
































Class _ TLL&03 
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CDPXRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




i 




































The Care of the Car 

By 

ALEXANDER JOHNSTON 

Editor of Motor 

Assisted by 194 Motoring Experts 

Copyright, 1917, by Motor 


> •> 

« •» 3 

f 

Published by 

MoToR 

The National Magazine of Motoring 
119 West Fortieth Street, Ntw York City 




I N offering the American motoring public this fifth 
edition of The Care of the Car, MoToR has added 
to the former volume considerable material to bring 

the book up to date. A chapter on caring for the electric 
lighting system and another on power tire pumps were 
demanded by the developments of the last few years. 
In certain other departments, the knowledge gained since 
the first edition went to press has made necessary 
some revisions of opinion. In the main MoToR can 
say no more than was said in the foreword to the pre¬ 
vious editions. 

This volume embodies, not the theories of one man, 
nor even the experiences of one man, but the combined 
experience of more than one hundred and ninety- 
four practical motorists, whose knowledge, gained at 
first hand, qualifies them to offer helpful advice on 
the manifold problems that confront the car owner. 

The aim in publishing the book is to provide a prac¬ 
tical treatise for the practical motorist. “Utility” is 
the watchword. The objects selected for discussion 
relate to the problems thsuttare constantly arising in the 
average man’s motoring'* No attempt has been made 
to deal with engineering questions, which, interesting in 
themselves, lack the utilitarian character of the homely 
problems of operation and maintenance, the solution of 
which contributes so materially to the comfort of the 
practical motorist. 

Those who have assisted in the production of this hook 
are all practical motorists. They speak, therefore, from 
the vantage point of a wide and varied experience, and 
this crystallization of a great fund of empirical knowl¬ 
edge cannot but be of the utmost help to other users 


of the car. 


© Cl A 528642 

JUN 23 !3ia 




For Index see page 275. 



CONTENTS 




CHAPTER I 

Driving and General Maintenance 


page 

Handling the New Car. 3 

Importance of First 1,000 Miles. 4 

Braking With the Motor. 6 

Slipping the Clutch... ••. 7 

Bettering Car Performance. 9 

Replacing Steering Knuckle Bushings. 11 

Petcock on Manifold for Feeding Air. 12 

Repairing Damaged Insulation. 13 

Cleaning the Windshield..••. 15 

Insurance Problems.16 

Cleaning the Car. 20 

CHAPTER II 
The Ignition System 

Remedies for Electrical Troubles. 26 

Punctured Magneto Condenser. 30 

Ignition Troubles. 31 

External Sparks.• •. 33 

Tracing Ignition Troubles. 34 

Keep It Clean and Dry. 35 

CHAPTER III 


Carburetion and 1 Fuel Fked Systems 

Regulating the Fluid Supply. 

A Series of Simple Tests. 

The Hot Jacketed Carburetor. 

Vaporization by Pressure Drop. 

Refrigeration MustHbe Compensated For. 

The Jacketed Carburetor. 

Backfiring and the Carburetor. 

“Lean Mixture”. 

Cause of Fire. 

Variety of Causes. 

Throttle Opening.. .. 

Altered Pressure Conditions....... 

Spark Position and Throttle Opening... • •. 

Relieve the Nozzle Chamber. 

A Matter of Adjustment. 


37 

39 

40 

41 

41 

42 

43 

44 

44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 
49 




































CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Conserving the Fuel. 50 

Experience the Only Teacher. 51 

Steam-cleaning With Gasoline. 52 

Trouble in the Fuel System. 54 

Dirt is the One Great Enemy. 56 

A Little Care, a Little Attention. 58 

CHAPTER IV 

The Starting and Lighting System 

Starting and Lighting Troubles. 60 

Locating and Eliminating Troubles. 62 

Just Give It a Fair Chance. 65 

Follow the Instruction Book and Be Safe. 66 

The Care of the Lighting System. 67 

Testing the Storage Battery. 68 

The Light That Will Not Fail. 70 

Giving the Battery a Chance. 72 

Headlight Attachments. 78 

The Efficiency of “Ten and -”.. 80 

Likes the Prismatic Lens. 82 

CHAPTER V 
The Cooling System 

Cleaning the Radiator.84 

Small Doses of Lye. 85 

A Vinegar and Water Solution. 85 

The Acid Treatment. 85 

Use of Caustic Soda Solution. 85 

Kerosene and Compressed Air. 86 

Mending the Cracked Water Jacket. 87 

The Rusting Method. 87 

A White-Lead Patch. 88 

Two Kinds of Cement. 89 

Calking with Copper. 89 

Autogenous Welding . 90 

How to Apply a Clamp. 90 

CHAPTER VI 
The Lubrication System 

When the Old System Fails. 92 

Adjustment That Ended Trouble. 93 

Care that Oiling System Needs. 94 

Troubles of All Varieties. 95 

Present and Past. 97 

As to Ford Oiling. 98 







































CONTENTS 


CHAPTER VII 
Common Engine Troubles 

Carbon—Its Removal. 

Causes of Engine Knocks. 

Similarity of Sounds. 

Knocks on the Road. 

Locating Trouble by Sound. 

List of Causes.. 

Pre-ignition Knocks. 

Magneto Knocks.. 

Watch the Gear Case. 

When the Motor Misfires. 

Causes Many and Varied. 

Misfiring at Low Speeds. 

Compression Effects. 

Compression and Carburetion. 

Loss of Compression. 

Prevention Best Cure. 

Classifying Causes. 

Many Available Tests. 

CHAPTER VIII 
The Transmission 

Transmission Troubles. 

Trouble Generally Lies in Repair Shop. 

Varying Troubles with Varying Axle Types.. 

CHAPTER IX 
The Steering System 

Caring for the Steering Gear. 

Yours for Safety. 

Better Be Sure Than Sorry. 

CHAPTER X 
The Rear Axle 

Noises in Rear Axle.•. 

)Never Let the Rear End Noises Go. 

Brakes, Gears and Rims. 

Pride, Patience and Perseverance. 

Look After Motor, Clutch and Transmission. 

CHAPTER XI 
Wheels and Tires 

Aligning the Wheels. 

Paralleling the Wheels. 

Stretching the Tire Mileage. 


PAGE 

.100 

.105 

.106 

.107 

.108 

,.109 

110 

.111 

,.112 

,.113 

..114 

..116 

..117 

..117 

..118 

..119 

..120 

..121 


122 

124 

125 


127 

129 

131 


133 

135 

136 
138 
140 


142 

143 

144 


































CONTENTS 


The Re-treading Process. 

The Value of Re-enforcement. 

Systematic Care Wins. 

A Stitch in Time. 

Caring for Tires. 

Pressure, Comfort and Economy. 

Depends Upon the Personal Factor. 

Patching the Wayside Blowout. 

Utilizing Old Tires. 

A Use for Old Tires. 

Conserving the Tires. 

Proper Care of Tires in Winter. 

Republic on the Care of Tires in Winter. 

What Michelin Has To Say. 

Making the Tire Change Easier. 

Many Inventions. 

CHAPTER XII 

Common and Uncommon Road Repairs 

Clever Emergency Repairs. 

Repairing a Broken Spring. 

Improving a Bearing. 

A Broken Torsion Rod. 

Shifting Gears with a Screw-Driver. 

An Emergency Spring Repair. 

Roadside Repairs . 

Improvised Steering Gear. 

A Broken Rear Axle. 

Some Clutch Trouble. 

Brake Conditions . 

A Radiator Leak. 

Experience in Mud. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Winter Driving and Maintenance 

Making Winter the Same as Summer. 

Cold Weather Starting. 

High Test Auxiliary Tank. 

“Many Inventions”. 

Cures ... 

Anti-Freezing Solution . 

No Question About Its Value. 

. Extensive Experience . 

Reserve Tanks . 

Sure Shot Starting in Winter. 

Heating the Garage. 


PAGE 

.146 
.147 
,.148 
. 149 
,.150 
. .151 
..153 
..154 
..155 
..156 
..157 
..161 

..162 
. .164 
..165 


167 

168 
168 

170 

171 

172 

173 

174 

175 

176 
,177 
178 
.178 


180 

184 

185 

186 

187 

188 
189 
191 
.192 
.193 
.197 









































CONTENTS 


Heating the Garage. 

An Externally Housed Coal Stove... 

Prefers a Unit Hot Water System. 

CHAPTER XIV 
Hints for the Tourist 

Tools to Carry. 

Emergency Food Supply. 

Tools that Have Always Answered. 

Motor Camping Equipment. 

Existence and Economy or Luxury and Expense 

CHAPTER XV 

The Ford Ignition System 

Improving the Ignition System. 

Minor Troubles Rather Than Inherent Defects.. 
Proper Adjustment and Attention Needed. 

CHAPTER XVI 

The Carburetion System 

Improving the Carburetion System.. 

The Value of Extra Heat. 

CHAPTER XVII 
The Lighting System 

Improving Ford Lighting. 

More Light, I Say. 

CHAPTER XVIII 
The Lubrication System 

Lubrication Troubles With the Ford. ; . 

Correct Lubrication Means Conservation. 

Fool Proof for Wise Men. 

CHAPTER XIX 

t Connecting Ron Bearings 

^Adjusting Connecting Rod Bearings.. 

Make Yourself Comfortable. 

CHAPTER XX 
The Cooling System 

Causes and Cures of Overheating. 

Causes and Cures. 

CHAPTER XXI 
The Ford Camshaft 

Removing and Replacing Camshaft. 

Proper Procedure . 


PAGE 

.202 

.203 

.203 


204 

207 

207 

209 

210 


215 

216 
216 


218 

220 


222 

223 


225 

226 
227 


228 

230 


232 

234 


.235 

.236 


























CONTENTS 


CHAPTER XXII 
The Ford Transmission System 


pace 

Trouble in the Transmission.238 

Proper Lubrication the Most Important Factor.240 

Replacing the Transmission Bands.241 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Transforming the Ford Into a Speedster.243 

Reduced Weight and Wind Resistance.245 

CHAPTER XXIV 
The Control System 

Improving Ford Control.247 

The Third of Three.248 


CHAPTER XXV 
The Steering System 

For Easier Ford Steering.250 

Getting the Best From a Multitude.251 

CHAPTER XXVI 
The Rear Axle 

Strengthening the Rear Axle. 253 

A Little Paint for the Lily.255 

Making Rear Axle Grease Tight.25b 

No Special Device Needed.257 

CHAPTER XXVII 
The Running Gear 

Wheels, Rims and Tires.260 

Oversized and Double Tread.261 

Bracing Radius Rods.262 

Re-inforcement Essential .264 

CHAPTER XXVIII 
General Maintenance Suggestions 

Cutting Down Operating Cost.267 

Systematic Care the Best Economizer.268 

CHAPTER XXIX 

Cold Weather Difficulties.271 

Many Helpful Suggestions..,.272 























CHAPTER 1 


DRIVING AND GENERAL 
MAINTENANCE 


HANDLING THE NEW CAR 


"IITHEN your car has been delivered at your home and 
’ ' placed in the garaere. and when you have admired it 
from all sides and tested it in all sorts of ways, then a care¬ 
ful and common sense inspection and examination and the 
use of a wrench or two and a little oil and grease may save 
you many future troubles and also teach you a great deal in 
regard to the mechanism of said car. 

In the first place, every bolt and nut on the car should be 
gone over with a little gentle pressure to see that they are 
tight, and this is especially true of manifold and carbureter 
couplings where the least air leak will make for poor carbu- 
retion and misfiring. This tightening of parts should be 
done every week for the first four. 

I have personally noted during this season no fewer than 
three new cars of first-class makes and in every case the 
above statement in regard to air leaks was found to be a fact 
and one that was remedied by a few seconds’ work with a 
wrench. 

My second job would be to read the instructions on lubri¬ 
cation given with each car, and after familiarizing myself 
with the positions of grease cups, oil holes, etc., I would find 
these important points and know that they contained the 
proper quantity of oil and grease, as the case might be. 

This method not only insures the owner against a scored 
bearing or a worn part, but also teaches him right at the 
beginning as to the whereabouts of the various oiling devices 
and incidentally he is learning by observation as to where 
and what the internal mechanism of the car looks like. 

Now, having reached the point where the car is presum¬ 
ably oiled and tightened, the next step is the proper driving 
of the same. A new automobile is in precisely the same con¬ 
dition when delivered as a locomotive or other fine piece of 
machinery; it needs careful limbering up if one is to get the 


4 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


maximum of efficiency with a minimum of wear. I might 
add that the locomotive always gets this. It is hauled dead 
for a while and then gets slow careful driving till bearings are 
worn in, while the automobile, a much finer piece of ma¬ 
chinery, is forced to show its paces at the very outset, with 
the result, ofttimes, that its efficiency is impaired and curtailed 
to a greater extent than the owner ever knows. Your new 
car should be driven during its first thousand miles at a 
minimum speed, say 15 to 25 miles per hour. If it shows 
signs of heating it should be given an opportunity to cool 
before being driven farther. 

The oiling of the car should be attended to with more 
than ordinary care during the early period of its use, grease 
cups turned down more frequently and a larger amount to 
cylinders and pistons than will be necessary after the bear¬ 
ings are worn in. The oil in the crankcase should be drained 
two or three times in the 500 miles and replaced with fresh. 
You will be surprised at the quantity of grit and dirt that 
will show in the oil when drained off, which comes from the 
new bearings and pistons which are throwing off small par¬ 
ticles of metal left in the manufacturing of the car. 

Lastly, the cleaning of the body of the car should be of the 
most careful type during its early use. 

Washing should be done with a simple flow of water, with¬ 
out spray or force, or finish will be marred, and the longer 
you can drive it without any cleaning, save dusting, the 
harder the varnish and finish will become. 

J. G. Hoffman, Kewanee, Ill. 

Importance of the First 1,000 Miles 

When a motor car is built the engine is run very little and 
the parts are fitted exceptionally tight to make them fit snug 
when the roughness wears off. As a consequence, the car is 
very stiff, will not show much speed and the motor will not 
respond readily to the throttle. The car should be run very 
carefully for the first 1,000 miles at least. The speed should 
not exceed 30 miles an hour on high, 18 on second and 8 
miles per hour on low, under any conditions. By following 
this limit of speed the various parts of the car have an op¬ 
portunity to find their seat in relation to the other parts with¬ 
out strain, and then if you are inclined to speed, the car will 
be fairly free and no harm will result. To force a car for 
the. first 1,000 miles puts an unusual strain on each part, 
which will result in premature repairs. Don’t race the 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


5 


engine when standing idle, nor trifle with it, nor do stunts 
with it nor show it off to your friends. Handle the car care¬ 
fully and always remember you have too much money tied 
up in the car to risk any harm to it. After the first 1,000 
miles drain the oil from the engine in order to remove the 
minute particles of metal which will accumulate incident 
to wearing off the rough spots on the pistons, bearings, etc., 
flush with kerosene or gasoline and put in new oil. 

It seems to be the general impression that when a new 
car arrives the only thing to do is to put in some oil, gaso¬ 
line and water and start out. Usually everything about a 
new car is mechanically correct, but it needs careful atten¬ 
tion for the first 1,000 miles. Oiling and greasing are per¬ 
haps the most important features. The car should be gone 
over carefully before using it, oil the magneto, fan, generator 
and starter and other working parts of the motor Carefully 
look after the grease cups and keep them well filled and turned 
down. Make it a practice to re-grease everything at least 
every 150 miles, as this will help to loosen up the car. Adjust 
the oil level so as to permit more oil to reach the engine 
for the first 1,000 miles. The careful owner will either go 
over a new car when he gets it or have a competent mechanic 
do so to see that the valves, carburetor, make and break 
mechanism of the magneto, and the electric generator are 
all properly set and adjusted. This may appear to be un¬ 
necessary but in these days of enormous production, inspec¬ 
tions at the factory may not be as thorough as they should be. 

The bolts and nuts require careful attention after the car 
has run jfhe first 500 miles. At the end of that time they 
will be seated properly and rattling will be prevented for 
a long time if they are carefully tightened. The instruction 
books supplied with the car should be thoroughly studied 
and every detail mentioned therein should be attended to. 
If you are unable to give them attention yourself have your 
dealer do it. 

From time to time squeaks will develop in various parts 
of the body and running gear, and if the car is greased 
regularly most of them will disappear. 

Some cars will show a tendency to overheat when new. 
This is caused by friction in wearing off the rough parts 
of the motor. Give the motor plenty of oil and water and 
do not force it, and in time this trouble will cease. 

N. A. S., Cumberland, Md. 


6 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


BRAKING WITH THE MOTOR 

'T'HERE is a double advantage in using the motor to hold the 
car back on a long hill, as it not only serves to cool the motor 
itself, frequently when this is very much needed, but it also 
saves the brakes, besides a great deal of wear and tear on the 
driver’s nerves. 

To use the motor as a brake to the best advantage the gears 
must be shifted in accordance with the severity of the grade. 
If nothing out of the ordinary, there is no necessity of chang¬ 
ing from the direct drive; if rather bad use second, if very 
bad use first. Shift on the brow of the hill before the car 
gathers any momentum and immediately shut off the ignition, 
taking care in so doing that the switch is not shoved from the 
magneto clear over to the battery. Where the car is not 

equipped with a good kick switch, with plenty of space be¬ 
tween the points, test his by pressing the accelerator gin¬ 

gerly. If there is no response the car is then running the 
motor and the latter is acting as an air compressor. The 
lower the gear, occasioned by dropping into second or first, 
the faster the motor must run for each revolution of the rear 
wheels and the greater its retarding power. Supplement 
this by using the pedal brake from time to time. If much re¬ 
course to the latter be necessary a lower gear should have 
been engaged at the top of the hill, and the driver will soon 
learn to gauge this from experience. Most cars have the 
emergency and clutch interconnected so this brake must not 
be touched, but it is never necessary. No harm whatever can 
result to the motor, as even when descending a steep grade 

with low engaged, it is not working anything like as hard as 

it would have to in climbing the same hill. Moreover, it is 
working on cool air and the brief respite puts it in better con¬ 
dition to climb the next hill, for there’s always a next. When 
the novice has mastered the use of the motor as a brake he 
has nothing to fear on the worst hills. 

Richard Wright, New York. 

Considerations Pro and Con 

To summarize the points in favor of this practice: (a) it 
relieves the brakes of wear and strain; (b) it scavenges and 
cools the engine; (c) it allows the operator a rest from the 
labor of working the service brake, which in case this brake 
has a very stiff spring, is a point worth while; (d) it keep? 
the car under perfect control. 

The points against, may be stated as follows: (a) A certain 
amount of oil is forced into the cylinders which is not burned 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


7 


as the charge of gas injected is not exploded; (b) it imposes 
a certain amount of strain on the rear axle, transmission 
clutch and engine. 

In considering the relative weight of these points it will 
appear that the arguments against braking with the engine are 
decidedly weaker than the advantages to be gained from it 
The amount of oil injected is not sufficient to prevent regular 
firing when the engine is again called upon to do its work 
The combined cost of the “wasted” gasoline and oil, and the 
wear on engine, transmission, etc., is probably less than the 
wear on the brake mechanism which is thus avoided. The 
benefit of giving the engine a bath of cool gasoline vapor and 
an airing are considerable, especially if the trip is a long one 
and there are ascents necessitating much work in the gears 
alternating with the steep descents. A driver who is in¬ 
clined to conserve his energy will not fail to appreciate the 
saving to his legs, as well as to his brakes, to be had by brak¬ 
ing with the engine. Should it be necessary to bring the car 
to a full stop the clutch is disengaged and the brakes applied 
just as in driving on level roads. On the other hand, should 
there be a need for power, the switch is turned on and the 
engine is at work and in gear. 

All this presupposes a certain manner of using the engine. 
On reaching the top of the hill to be descended the gears are 
set in intermediate or in low speed, according to whether the 
descent is moderately or very steep. The ignition switch is 
set in the “off” position, the clutch left engaged and both 
brakes are left off. Should the braking effect thus obtained be 
not sufficient either brake may be applied, leaving the clutch 
still in engagement. It goes without saying that the throttle 
' should be closed when the ignition is cut off. When the de¬ 
clivity is an easy one with an abrupt drop at some point, the 
gears may be set in low and the foot brake used with the 
clutch out in the easy part of the descent, the clutch being let 
in only as the steep part of the grade is reached. In fact, 
there are several minor variations to the manner in which 
engine braking may be done, the essentials being that the 
transmission should be in one of the lower gears, and the 
ignition cut off. 

Dr. C. D. Enfield, Jefferson, Iowa. 

SLIPPING THE CLUTCH 

TI7TIETHER or not occasional slipping of the clutch is per- 
VV missible depends to a certain extent upon the type of clutch 
with which the car is equipped. As far as the motor is concerned 


8 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


there is no doubt that this practice is less harmful than laboring 
up the last few feet of a hill in high gear and with full throttle 
opening. But by far the better method is that of shifting to 
second, or even if necessary the low speed, until the car has 
passed the critical point. Many drivers are apparently unaware 
of the fact that although the power of a motor for any given 
throttle opening varies with the speed at which it is run¬ 
ning, yet the torque or turning moment remains very nearly 
constant. Thus, though an engine which is turning over 
slowly on full throttle, develops comparatively little power, 
there are, nevertheless, enormous strains brought to bear 
on all parts of the engine and transmission line, which 
are obviously most injurious to them. Now, if under such 
conditions, the second or first gear is engaged, the motor will 
develop more power with less throttle, and consequently with 
less torsional stress, simply because it is running at greater 
speed. Slipping the clutch produces an almost identical effect. 
Namely, it allows the motor to pick up speed and power. But, 
since no gear reduction has been effected, the moment the 
clutch takes the load again the former conditions are restored, 
and more slipping is necessary. Hence, though this relieves 
the engine of considerable harmful strain, it is not nearly so 
effective as a change of gear would be, though in conjunction 
with the latter it will often render material assistance in 
working the car through a heavy piece of road, when the 
motor might otherwise be stalled. 

Now, let us consider the effect of slippping on the clutch it¬ 
self. Clutches of the disc or plate type may, if they are in 
good condition, be slipped without injury, especially if they 
revolve in a bath of oil. This is not the case, however, with 
the cone or the majority of disc clutches, particularly if they 
are faced with leather or some other substance which will 
char under excessive friction. The facing of such a member 
may be utterly ruined if slipping is frequently resorted to. 
At first its surface will become smooth and glassy, and will 
not always hold the load properly. This will produce more 
friction and finally the facing will burn and crumble away. 
Facings of asbestos fabric, though they will not scorch, are 
yet liable to assume this same glassy surface, under extreme 
conditions, thereby causing the clutch to become unreliable. 
To sum up the above facts, it may be said that where a change 
of gear will produce the desired results it is better not to slip 
the clutch at all, but in a case where the car has become 
stuck, or nearly so, in spite of gear shifting, a little judicious 
pressure of the pedal may, if necessary, be tried. 

Roy Wood, Vancouver, B. C. 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


9 


Disadvantages Outnumber the Benefits 

Speaking generally the clutch is not designed for the pur¬ 
pose of assisting the high gear, or any gear, on the crest of 
a hill. It is constructed to “slip” that it may engage grad¬ 
ually, and so 'kvoid what would otherwise be instant applica¬ 
tion of the full power between the motor and driving shaft, 
with consequent shock to the crank shaft, gears differential, 
rear axle, etc. 

The “practice of slipping the clutch to assist the high gear” 
was probably born of a desire on the part of the operator to 
“make the hill on high gear.” 

In answering the question literally the reasons “for” are, 
after all, only apparent. They are: 

1. Shock eliminated in transmission by reason of not chang¬ 
ing gears. 

2 . Elimination of jerk and shock in rear system, accompany¬ 
ing “picking up” from a practical standstill. 

3 . Saving of friction in rear tires, which would accompany 
the get-away on a lower gear. 

The reasons “against” are many and most important. 

1. The necessity for assisting the high gear on a grade does 
not present itself until the motor begins to labor. It will be 
universally conceded that no motor should be allowed to labor. 
Hence it is obvious that reason for slipping the clutch should 
not arise. 

2 . Constant slipping of the clutch means a worn and con¬ 
sequently inefficient clutch, especially in the case of the 
leather-faced type. 

3 . It is bound to result at times in racing the motor with 
consequent heating. 

4 . Half the time the operator will have to change gears 
after all, and the momentum of the car will have become so 
slight that a labored pick up is the result. 

5 . Anything saved on the tires is offset by the practice in- 
general being injurious. 

6 . In short, a motor car is provided with change speed 
gears, whose functions should be exercised before the neces¬ 
sity for clutch slipping arises. F. N. C., Summit, N. J. 

IDEAS FOR BETTERING CAR PERFORMANCE 

TN August, 1914, I purchased a 1915 four-cylinder car of a 
* well known make which was not all that I desired in 
comfort and accessibility. 

Being short and stout I had trouble in reaching gear 


10 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


lever. To overcome this I made a 3/4 inch offset extension 
of 4 inch which I attached to gear lever, and can now reach and 
change gears with ease. 

I next placed on the forward doors 8 inch x 2 inch pads 
to correspond with upholstery which gave me a place to 
rest elbow and improved looks of car. 

On the floor board where my left foot would naturally 
rest I placed a block of wood 1^4 inches wide, 5 inches long 
and 34 inch thick. At the right end of block on floor I 
placed a large horn button % inch from floor and Vs inch 
above block. This I connected to the same circuit that the 
hand electric button was on Which was in a box on side of 
steering post. To blow horn with foot all that was necessary was 
to slide foot to right until it hit the button. By the use of this 
foot button I can keep both hands on the steering wheel or should 
J desire to use both feet on pedals and blow horn at same time 
can use hand button. 

To have the tools handy that are used mostly I made a 
tray of mahogany that is 1 inch deep, 9 inches wide and 
15 inches long. I cut recesses in this that fitted three sizes of S 
wrenches, one screwdriver, one adjustable small wrench, one 
combination pliers, one tire gauge and one tire valve tool. To 
eliminate noise I fastened a piece of leather the size of tray on one 
side. The tray is kept on top of other tools in tool box on running 
board. 

This model car had a drip pan that ran from front of car 
to rear of flywheel about 2 inches below base of engine. 
When I wished to remove carburetor or change oil it was 
necessary to remove drip pan which was a hard and dirty 
job. To overcome this I cut 9-inch holes in pan directly 
under carbureter and oil outlet and fastened over each hole 
a sliding cover. Now when I wish to remove oil or car¬ 
bureter I lay under car and open the slide to the part I wish 
to get at and can do work with very lttle effort. 

The oiling system of this car is a combination pump and 
splash which sent oil through an oil lead to a dial on dash 
and back tot crankcase. At the pump outlet dirt would settle 
and oil would not rise. At this outlet I placed a brass T and 
on other end of T a petcock. The oil lead was fastened on top 
of T and then back to dash. When dial did not register I would 
open petcock which engine was running and pump out dirt. 

To prevent car from being stolen I cut off starter pedal 
flush with floor board and on the part I removed, a piece 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 11 

of brass pipe was fitted that was 2 inches longer and placed it 
over the lower section which was in the hole in floor board. 
When leaving car unattended I remove starter button and place 
it in my pocket. By so doing there is nothing above floor for 
would-be thief to start engine with. 

Having trouble with the front valve springs getting dirty 
I placed on left front side of timing gear case a piece of 
zinc 12 inches square which keeps dirt from valve springs 
and carbureter. 

While I have made a great many more improvements I 
think that the ones described are the most important. 

C. A. Du Bois, Waltham, Mass. 


Replacing Steering Knuckle Bushings 

To simplify the work of oiling the spring leaves I have 
used a method which provides a constant oil supply with 
the minimum of attention. 

Small oil soaked sponges were placed in the pockets where 
the springs were attached to the frame members. An oc¬ 
casional replenishment of the oil on the sponges was all the 
attention needed. • 

All cars are not so provided with convenient pockets for 
this method, and a procedure which I have found especially 
quick apd resultful is by mixing light cylinder oil with an 
equal part of kerosene and adding small quantities of 
powdered graphite; this is then applied to the edges of the 
springs with a brush. 

The fluidity of this liquid causes it to penetrate between 
the spring leaves, carrying the graphite particles with it. 

I use a squirt can as a container for this lubricant and 
into the spout I forced the wooden end of a small brush. 
This is convenient as the can may be shaken to mix up the 
ingredients without spilling of the contents and the brush 
is not mislaid. 

Among the details of the running gear that result with 
vibration and rattle due to wear are the bushings in the 
steering connections, spring shackles and front wheel 
spindles. 

The noise and lost motion is not overcome by tightening 
the bolts, what is needed is the renewal of the bushings. 
Rather than lay the car up in a repair shop for this work, 
it is usually neglected and the car runs noisily on. 


12 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Without expenditure for special tools to accomplish the 
work I have found several simple expedients helpful in re¬ 
newing the worn bushings. 

With a hacksaw, the bushing shell may be cut across which 
cut relieves the external pressure and the bushing slips out 
easily. The forcing of the new bushing into place may be 
accomplished by a threaded bolt and nut. The bushing 
when eased off at one end with a file to start it into the hole 
can then be pressed into place by means of the bolt and 
two wrenches. Use a suitable washer under the face of the 
nut to have it turn easily. 

On some wheel spindles, bushings with thrust ends are 
inserted at either side. To remove these I have found that 
a steel rod split with a saw for several inches and sprung 
apart at the ends will, with the aid of a hammer, quickly 
displace these worn members for their replacement with new 
ones. 

After the bushing is pressed into place you will probably 
find that it will need reaming out before the bolt will pass 
through. A flat file ground to a cutting edge and made as 
wide as the retaining bolt in diameter, makes an excellent 
reaming tool if centered by two semi-circular pieces o f wood 
at the sides. A slight taper on the reamer cutting edges 
permits of finishing the inside of the bushing until a snug 
fit for the bolt is obtained. 

I have on occasions used sawed out bushings over again, 
by fitting a thin tin sleeve or liner around the outer cir¬ 
cumference and forcing them back into place. This liner 
closes the bushing making the inside diameter smaller. 

A difficulty oftentimes is experienced in keeping the cap 
on ball and socket connections in the steering gear and 
radius rods snug. It will be found if split lock washers 
are placed under the bolt heads that hold the removable 
cap and the faces of the sockets are filed off for clearance 
that the connections will remain tight and snug fitting with 
the least attention. 

G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 

Petcock On Manifold for Feeding Air 

There was one device I placed on my motor that 
served several purposes, but was extremely simple. It was 
a regular one-quarter inch drip cock, screwed into the 
intake manifold just where it branched to go to the dif¬ 
ferent cylinders. To the handle of the drip cock was riveted 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


13 


an iron rod that came through the dash and terminated in 
a handle. A simple yet effective arrangement. Then when 
the motor was warmed up and had a nice run ahead, I could 
from my seat open the cock in the manifold and admit excess 
air above the carbureter, giving me an average of ten to 
fifteen per cent less gas consumption, besides reducing 
carbon formation. 

Once in a while I fed water or kerosene into the cylinders 
by means of this device, and found it useful'in keeping down 
carbon in this way as well. When cold weather came I 
found I didn’t need excess air and did need a primer, so I 
retained the device with the modification that I soldered 
into the air opening a small brass tube that dipped into the 
float chamber of the carbureter. Of course I was careful to see 
that it did not interfere with the float action. Then by keeping 
the throttle closed, opening the petcock and turning over the 
motor, the suction in the manifold drew gasoline directly from 
the float chamber and sprayed it directly into the manifold near 
the cylinders, constituting a very effective priming device. 

W. Penn Lukens, Woodlyn, Pa. 

Repairing Damaged Insulation 

The ofd question of getting home if a tire blows out and 
you have no spare has been given any number of solutions. 
If the hole is not too large blowout patches can be used 
but the repair I had to make was of such nature that neither 
inner nor outer blowout patches could be made to hold. 
Therefore, I secured a piece of heavy close-woven cloth, such 
as a towel or a piece of canvas. The cloth was wrapped 
around the tube at the point that when the tube was in¬ 
serted it will come directly over the hole in the casing. The 
tire is then replaced and blown up sufficiently that the tube 
presses against the tire, after which the damaged section 
of the tire is wrapped tightly with wire or rope. Thus, the 
cloth makes a new fabric lining and the rope keeps the tube 
from pushing through the tire. A repair of this nature is 
usually good for many miles and has the advantage that 
a full pressure of air can be maintained. 

When the insulation of wiring becomes damaged it is 
usually necessary to discard it and replace with new wire. 
Instead of replacing the wiring I make use of the pitch 
taken from dry batteries in repairing the insulation. A 
quantity of the pitch is melted, and after the damaged in- 


14 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


sulation is cut away alternate layers of pitch and tape are 
laid on. The pitch will adhere perfectly to the other in¬ 
sulation and the wiring is then as good as new. d his pitch 
can also be used in repairing many other short-circuits in 
the coils, magneto, etc. 

On one occasion I skidded into a ditch which bent the 
steering arm and threw a front wheel out of alignment. 
Adjustment for this was provided, but could not be used 
in this case as the wheel was too badly out of alignment. 
The leverage of a jack was used to make the repair. I 
blocked the front wheel from the center of the rim to the 
car frame. The jack was then placed between the spring 
and steering arm, leverage applied, which forced the arm 
back sufficient to provide the proper alignment. This is 
but one of the many uses to which a jack can be put. 

The color of the exhaust flame is the best indicator to 
determine the correct carbureter adjustment and the exact 
working condition of each cylinder. The engine on my 
car has holes drilled in the exhaust near each cylinder, 
fitted with plugs, which makes it quite easy to examine each 
cylinder individually. In the absence of these plugs, and if 
the muffler cut-out in near enough to the engine to throw 
out a flame, the operating condition of the engine as a whole 
can be determined. Thus, the yellow flame indicates an 
over-rich mixture; a pale blue flame, a lean mixture and a 
deep blue flame, a powerful and normal mixture. The test 
should be made with a retarded spark and open throttle. 
Should the exhaust be blue with yellow streaks, it indicates 
incomplete combustion. Therefore, it is quite easy to de¬ 
termine the operating condition of the engine and apply any 
necessary remedies. 

To satisfactorily repair fenders or bodies is quite often a 
problem. The method I make use of consists of shaping a 
block of wood to conform to the curve of the body at the 
damaged point. By the use of a hammer and the block of 
wood the body can be ironed out without scarcely leaving 
a trace of the damage. Fenders can be repaired equally 
as well if the bends are not so sharp that reshaping will 
crack the metal. The fenders should be removed and laid 
on a solid surface and repaired by the method suggested 
above. If a little care and patience are used the results will 
be found satisfactory. The use of this method eliminates 
the many small dents caused by using the hammer alone. 

N. A. S., Cumberland, Md. 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


15 


CLEANING THE WINDSHIELD 

T> UB a half and half mixture of kerosene and glycerine on the 
clouded surface of the glass. A small bottle of this mix¬ 
ture, tightly corked, may be wrapped in a little waste put in a 
half pound baking powder can and stored away in the tool box 
or some other convenient place about the car. When it begins 
to rain pour a small portion of the mixture on the waste, rub 
over the damp surface of glass, and all water will spread out in 
a thin sheet, wherever it comes in contact with the glycerine, 
instead of forming in little globules, which are so detrimental 
to the vision. 

Carl L. Jeffries, Columbus, Ohio. 

Paraffine in Gasoline Solution 

Take about half a pint of gasoline and dissolve in it all the 
paraffine which it will take up; i. e., make a saturated solution 
of paraffine in gasoline. The paraffine is not very soluble and 
but little need be used. Cut it into very fine shavings with a 
knife and let it stand in the gasoline for several hours, stirring 
occasionally to facilitate solution. After the solution is made 
it may be bottled and rubbed lightly upon the glass as often as 
is found necessary. A shield covered with this solution will, 
•on the evaporation of the gasoline, be coated with a very thin 
layer of paraffine which will in no way interfere with its 
transparency, but will keep from clouding in either damp oi 
cold weather. 

John W. Townsend, Lockport, N. Y. 

A Glycerine-Alcohol Mixture 

Mix together equal parts of ordinary glycerine and alcohol 
and apply with a wide camel’s hair brush, painting it smoothly 
on the glass. The alcohol will soon evaporate but the glycer¬ 
ine will remain, making the glass bright and clear in any 
kind of weather. This method is excellent in a snowstorm 
as the flakes of snow on striking the glass will not stick to it 
but will slide right down. This mixture will remain on the 
glass for several days before it has to be renewed. ' When 
applying it care must be taken not to let the alcohol from the 
brush drip down to the dashboard as it will leave streaks in 
the varnish. A piece of waste dipped in gasoline will easily 
remove the glycerine and clean the glass, but care must be 
taken not to get the gasoline on any part of the car as it 
will leave spots. 


Wm. Cohn, New York City. 


16 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Plain Kerosene 

A small clean piece of waste or cloth is moistened in coal oil 
or kerosene. An occasional wipe of the glass with this cloth 
will serve the purpose of keeping the wind shield quite cleai 
and transparent. Another advantage of this treatment is that 
kerosene possesses a remarkable glass cleaning power, so that 
when the shield is wiped dry with a cloth or piece of waste it 
remains very clear and absolutely devoid of streaks. 

Rudolph Kysela, Denver, Colo. 

Straight Glycerine 

Carry a piece of cloth soaked with glycerine in a closed tin 
can or some other receptacle. To apply, first wipe off the 
moisture and then give the glass a thin, even coating. The 
glass will appear rather dull at first but not necessarily 
opaque. As soon as it has been rained upon it will become 
clear again. As to cold weather, it need only be pointed out 
that since glycerine freezes at a very low temperature, a 
thin coating of it will serve to keep frost off the glass. This 
•will not need to be renewed often and a little can be made 
to go a long way. J. T. L., Boonton, N. T. 

INSURANCE PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS 

AUTOMOBILE insurance is obtainable in many forms, 
and it is now possible to be protected against all the 
hazards incident to the ownership or operation of a car, 
with policy combination so varied as to suit the requirements 
of almost all. Thus, there is a fire and transportation policy, 
to which can be added by rider, protection against collision, 
theft and damage to property of others. Or the personal 
liability policy only may be taken, which also permits of 
coverage against damage to property of others and collision. 
However, either fire or liability insurance must be carried 
as a basis of securing the other protection. 

Motor car owners generally seem to hold to the opinion 
that the apparent hazard should be the basis for judging 
the necessity of the various forms of insurance. For this 
reason, the fire, transportation and collision coverage is not 
desired by many, as these are hazards the prudent owner 
can greatly diminish. Although the theft hazard is great, un¬ 
fortunately the insurance is obtainable only in combination 
with the fire and transportation policy. However, many 
owners take the less desirable forms in order to secure the 
theft protection. 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


17 


But a much different view is taken in regard to the liability 
and property damage forms. The average motorist realizes 
that even though he is a careful driver he cannot control 
the actions of pedestrians and vehicles. Then, too, he knows 
that personal injuries are often serious and the consequent 
damage suit is expensive even though the verdict were in 
his favor. For these reasons the money is considered well 
spent, even for the satisfaction and assurance of having the 
protection. The protection afforded by the policy is very 
comprehensive, insurance being usually secured for $5,000 
for injury to one person and $10,000 for injury to more than 
one person, and property damage for $1,000. These are known 
as the standard amounts, but they can be increased by the 
payment of a proportionate additional premium. 

When all things are considered, and in view of the admit¬ 
tedly growing hazard, the cost of insurance for the average 
car will be found to be quite reasonable. Take as an illustra¬ 
tion a 1917 model car listed at $1,250. The fire insurance rate 
on this car is $1 per $100, while that of theft is $1.50, or a pre¬ 
mium of $25 for $1,000 insurance. The liability and prop¬ 
erty damage rates are based on the S. A. E. horse-power of 
the car. Thus, for a car having a horse-power of twenty-five, 
the liability insurance costs $29.75 and the property damage 
$7.45. -AFor reasonably complete protection, therefore, the 
insurance cost is only $62.20, and if the fire and theft is dis¬ 
pensed with the cost is reduced to $37.20. 

The rates on the classes of insurance just mentioned vary 
with the territory. The fire and theft rate applies to the 
entire State of Maryland, while the liability and property 
damage rates apply to the territory outside of Baltimore city, 
where they are $31.50 and $10.15, respectively. This rate dis¬ 
crimination is puzzling to many; the principal reasons for it 
being traffic conditions and regulation, the theft experience 
and the general experience as to losses classed by territories. 
While the rate distinction is made as between territories, the 
owner taking out insurance in the lower rates territories is 
fully covered while touring in the higher rates district. 

From my own experience and observation I find that, if the 
loss is one covered by the policy and if all its conditions are 
complied with, adjustments are usually most liberal and 
prompt. I have never heard of payment being refused on 
small technicalities, and in fact the insurance companies usu¬ 
ally pay more than the actual loss rather than make a few 
dollars a basis of contention and dissatisfaction. An ap- 


18 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


parently unsatisfactory adjustment is usually traceable to one 
or more of the following causes: First, ignorance as to what 
is covered by the policy; second, placing a value on the car far 
out of proportion to its real worth; third, that some condi¬ 
tion of the policy had been violated; fourth, the insurance 
was carried in a company financially unsound. 

However, in the aggregate it would seem automobile insur¬ 
ance has been placed on a very satisfactory basis. But much 
criticism is expressed against the amount of insurance granted 
and the rates charged as the car grows older. This criticism 
seems to be well founded, as can be readily seen by again 
considering the car referred to above. After this car has 
become six months old, the fire and theft rates are advanced 
50 cents, or to $3 per $100, while the insurance value of the 
car is depreciated 40 per cent. As a matter of fact, the com¬ 
position of this rate shows that $1.75 of it is for the fire 
hazard and $1.25 for the theft feature, really an advance of 75 
cents for the fire insurance and a reduction of 25 cents for the 
theft. An adjustment of rates would seem to be equitable 
and the rate could reasonably be allowed to remain the same, 
the theft reduction compensating for the admittedly increased 
fire hazard. While a 20 per cent depreciation charge would 
be reasonable in view of the high quality of present-day 
automobiles. 

However, when all things are considered, insurance and 
insurance companies seem to operate on the basis of fair 
treatment to all, and it may safely be said that any expendi¬ 
ture for insurance can be looked upon as an investment in 
security against loss and freedom from anxiety. 

N. A. S., Cumberland, Md. 

Insurance of Course, But How Much? 

To insure or not to insure is not the question, but to what 
extent shall we insure is debatable. Shall it be for fire and 
theft, liability for personal and property damage, or for 
collision ? 

The majority of motorists probably give first consideration 
to fire insurance. Usually one policy, at a small additional 
cost, covers both fire and theft. The so-called “floater policy” 
covering car against loss by fire or theft, whether at home or 
away is the most satisfactory. 

Liability insurance is a new term to many and most begin¬ 
ners until they have had an accident have the idea that it 
will be unnecessary to insure against loss due to accidents. 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


19 


Every motor car owner undoubtedly should carry some 
insurance. The amount and kind will depend largely upon 

Locality; 

Whether the owner drives or hires a driver; 

The experience of the driver, etc. 

Practically every large corporation, operating motor ve¬ 
hicles, carries insurance for fire and theft; also for liability 
for personal and property damage. Our laws are very strict 
and the courts most efficient with regard to accidents- in 
which motor cars have a part. It is a rare thing to hear of 
an accident in which a motor car figures and not to find the 
motorist blamed because of alleged reckless or fast driving. 
The owner of a motor car is looked upon as one able to pay 
for any damage done and also as one guilty until proven 
innocent. However, we are gradually getting away from this 
condition due to the fact that the number of persons operat¬ 
ing cars is rapidly increasing and also due to the fact that 
great numbers of people in moderate circumstances now own 
cars. 

Insurance against fire and theft is a positive kind of insur¬ 
ance. For example: I may buy a new car for $1,000 and 
secure a policy for $800, and if the car is destroyed by fire or 
stolen I will receive $800. On the other hand, if I carry 
liability insurance and in driving along the street strike an¬ 
other vehicle, causing personal damage or property damage, 
I will be protected in the courts against loss up to a fixed 
amount. In some policies the limit is $1,000; in others $5,000 
or $10,000. If I carry no insurance against fire or theft I can 
only lose the value of the car, while if I carry no liability 
insurance I may stand a loss of thousands of dollars, although 
my car may be of small value. Therefore, I would say that 
the owner of limited means driving a car in a city where 
traffic is heavy should at least carry liability insurance against 
personal and property damage. 

The first year I owned a car I carried no insurance what¬ 
ever, after that I carried fire and theft and lately have added 
liability. I have had only one loss, that being a spare tire, 
value $30, and adjustment was promptly made for the 
entire amount. Some policies would have only given the loss 
in excess of $25. Such a policy is unsatisfactory and should 
not be taken out. I have never had a case where liability 
was even probable, but I have had some narrow escapes. 
You may pride yourself upon your skillful and careful driving, 
but if a horse becomes frightened, causing damage, you may 


20 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


soon thereafter find your way to court. You can take positive 
precaution against fire and theft, but you have no way to 
avoid the possibility of liability loss unless you leave your 
car at home. 

I believe motor car insurance, as a whole, is well worked 
out. The rates seem rather high, but losses are extremely 
uncertain and the insurance companies can only make the 
rates high and lower them as conditions improve. The losses 
from fire, due to explosion, are now quite rare. Losses due 
to theft are increasing if anything, but strict laws making 
stealing a felony are now going into effect in many states and 
will help in this quarter. Automobile clubs have also been 
of great assistance along this line. Vigorous defense of 
motorists against unreasonable damage cases will lower lia¬ 
bility insurance rates. Liability rates will also decrease when 
the majority of owners carry such insurance, thus decreasing 
the percentage of losses and glso compelling the plaintiff in 
damage cases to meet competent legal defense. 

Collision insurance rates are very high, and such insurance 
can be neglected better than any of the other kinds. 

I believe there is a chance for improvement in the method 
of determining liability rates. At present the rate is deter¬ 
mined by an arbitrary horse-power rating of the motor. 
Consideration should be given to the experience and character 
of the driver. A man who has driven a car for ten years 
without an accident, surely should not be classed with the 
beginner. Also, an old noisy car, apt to fall to pieces at any 
time, is a greater menace than a new or well repaired car. 

Louis R. Lee, Columbus, O. 

AS WE CLEAN THE CAR NOWADAYS 

TT may surprise many owners who have not used these prepara- 

tions to learn that by the use of them a dusty, spotted body 
may, in about thirty minutes, be made to look as if it had just 
come from the paint shop. For a few cents the whole body mav 
be given a high polish, which not only adds to the appearance of 
the gar, but protects it from the action of mud and water and 
injurious agents. Many owners seem to assume that the motor 
car body will retain its luster indefinitely with nothing more 
than an occasional dusting. This of course is ridiculous, and 
to achieve permanent beauty of finish the owner must make up 
his mind to a regular and systematic cleansing and polishing of 
the vehicle. If this is done once a week the results will be all 
that could be hoped for, in spite of the fact that the motor car 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 21 

travels over muddy roads through rain and snow and sleet and 
stands in a closed garage where injurious gases from the exhaust 
have ample opportunity to do their wicked worst on the delicate 
surfaces of lustrous varnish and enamel. 

Right here we will note the fact that the finish of the average 
new car is abominably neglected and abused by the ordinary 
owner during the period of early ownership. It takes a month 
or even two for the highly polished finish of the modern car 
thoroughly to set and season. During this period the owner of 
a new car should be very careful of it and give it the most 
scrupulous care and attention. If mud gets a chance to become 
thoroughly set during this period, the results will be disastrous. 

The market now affords a number of liquid polishes, which 
will give excellent results in nearly all instances if they are used 
as directed by the manufacturers. There really are two varieties 
of liquid polishes, those which are sprayed on to the body sur¬ 
faces and those which are rubbed on with a piece of cloth. The 
results are about the same in either case. The time for using 
the sprayed polish is less than for the other types. However, 
there are certain advantages in the use of wax polishes, which 
make the need for application less frequent, so that the total 
tit^ie consumed in grooming the car will be about the same for 
liquids and wax polishes. 

Wax polishes have been on the market for a number of years 
and their application is a simple matter. A piece of clean cheese¬ 
cloth is used for applying the wax to the surface and another 
cloth is utilized for distributing the wax evenly so that the 
result will be a thin film all over the finish. It is recommended 
that the wax be put inside two or three thicknesses of cheese¬ 
cloth so the substance will work through and deposit evenly 
over the surface. Some motorists make the mistake of using 
too much of the wax, believing that the more used the better. 
This is not so and it is surprising how little of the wax is needed 
to obtain the desired results. The housewife usually knows 
about wax polishes, having used or seen them used in polishing- 
furniture, and a word from her may save time and energy. 
Before applying the wax the body should be well cleaned, be¬ 
cause if there are surface spots, they are likely to show through. 
It is not necessary to use the wax every day, and it will be found 
that a thorough job will last from four days to a week, depending 
upon the weather conditions in the meantime. 

After a good polishing has been given the car in the early part 
of the week, a little rubbing with a clean cloth will bring back 
the luster without further application of wax. However, do not 
attempt to repolish if there is mud on the body, because this 
will almost certainly scratch the varnish. 

Wax can be used for the body, fenders, hood and other 


22 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


bright parts, and a new use for it has been found. If the under¬ 
side of the fenders are once thoroughly cleaned and covered 
with a fairly good coating of wax, it will be found there will be 
less of a mud deposit when the car comes in oft' the road, and 
that which is deposited can be removed more easily. 

Most wax polishers use carnauba as a base. Carnauba wax 
is exuded by the leaves of Corypha cerifera, a palm indigenous 
to tropical South America. This palm is found in the states of 
Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Piauhy, Ceara, Mar- 
anhao and Matto Grosso, Brazil. It is especially plentiful in 
the province of Ceara. The wax is gathered during the months 
from September to March by pulling off the leaves before they 
have fully opened and drying them for two or three days in 
the sun. During these six months the leaves can be cut twice 
a month, a good worker cutting about 1,500 leaves per day. 
About 2,000 to 4,000 leaves are required to produce thirty-five 
pounds of wax. The white powdery mass covering the surface 
of the leaves is first brushed off, then scraped off and thrown 
into boiling water. After fifteen to twenty minutes the wax 
collects on the top as a dough-like mass and is taken off after 
cooling. The crude wax, as obtained from the plant, is dirty 
greenish or yellowish; it is very hard and so brittle that it can 
readily be powdered. 

Recently there have come on the market a great number of 
polishes which are designed to be spread on to the surface. 
Many of these polishes have a lemon-oil base which is mixed 
with some substance which will fill in the small surface holes 
and scratches. 

The outfits usually sell for $1.25 and the liquid is applied with 
a sprayer much the same as an ordinary plant sprayer. In 
using these polishes the same rules apply as for the waxes. The 
body must be cleaned first to remove mud spots. While some 
makers claim that the polish will remove mud, it will be safer 
first to remove the mud with water, so that there will be less 
chance for scratching. The mud should not be rubbed off, but 
should be loosened and floated off with water. The polish may 
be sprayed over a dusty surface and then wiped off with a piece 
of cheesecloth. 

After spraying the polish over the surface, a piece of clean 
cheesecloth should be used to wipe off the excess. There is no 
need for rubbing vigorously. A few straight line strokes with 
the cloth over the sprayed surface will be found sufficient to 
give a high luster. It is best to spray the whole body before 
starting to wipe off the excess. It will be found that only about 
ten to fifteen minutes is required to do the actual spraying, 
although about thirty minutes may be needed to complete the 
entire work of polishing. Do the work indoors. 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


23 


A weekly brushing of the top both inside and outside will add 
materially to its life. Fabric tops never should be cleaned with 
gasoline, kerosene or similar oil, because these attack the rubber 
in the top and cause the layers to separate. Good castile soap 
and water should be the cleaning medium and a stiff brush used 
to rub it in. After using soap in this way the spot should be 
washed with clear water and rubbed dry with a piece of chamois. 
If impure soap is used, it may result in a portion of the top 
becoming spotted. 

Upholstery certainly looks better when it is clean, and its 
wearing qualities will not be affected by such procedure. As a 
matter of fact the upholstery should be cleaned once a week. 
This does not mean merely wiping the surface of the seat cush¬ 
ions, but includes wiping under the piping and in the corners 
where dirt inevitably accumulates. After the dust has been re¬ 
moved, leather upholstery may be cleaned by wiping it with a 
clean cloth saturated with a weak ammonia solution. Castile 
soap and water also is effective in cleaning leather but gasoline 
and similar liquids should not be used for the reason that they 
cause cocking. It is recommended that the leather be treated 
occasionally by applying a light coat of linseed oil thinned with 
vinegar. This solution should be applied with a cloth and 
allowed to remain for a few hours, after which the upholstery 
may be wiped. Where imitation leather is used, soap and water 
is recommended for removing spots and linseed oil or sweet oil 
in small quantities for brightening up the finish. 

When detachable upholstery covers become greatly soiled, they 
can be removed and sent to a cleaning establishment. Small 
spots can be removed with gasoline or with soap and water. 

It may appear to many car owners that the washing of an 
automobile is a simple matter requiring little skill and less 
knowledge about body finish. As a matter of fact there are 
many things to be remembered in this connection, neglect of 
which may result in the finish of the car being permanently 
injured. A dirty car should not be allowed to remain so for 
more than a day, especially if the mud deposit on the body and 
running gear is at all heavy. The longer the body remains spot¬ 
ted, the more difficult it will be to remove the spots and restore 
its pristine luster. It is even recommended that dust which has 
accumulated be washed off rather than dusted off. 

In washing a car body only clear water should be used, and 
this should be neither too cold nor too warm. Water at about 
50° F. is best. A large sponge, a clean pail and running water 
from a hose or sprinkling can will do the work in a short time. 
Soak the sponge in the clear water and allow the water to run 
down the sides of the panels. Do not use high water pressure 
if the body i 9 new and there are heavy mud spots, because the 


24 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


water may cause some of the small sand particles to become 
imbedded in the finish. A good plan is to hold the sponge at 
the top of a panel and squeeze it at intervals so the water will 
run down over the finish. The hose will keep the sponge satu¬ 
rated so there will be no interruption in the work. If small, 
hard mud deposits are present do not attempt to scrape them 
off, but rather allow the water to wash them away. This will 
avoid scratching the finish. Often the mud on the panels, if 
allowed to soak for a few minutes, will fall off as soon as a 
stream of water flows over it. Never use soap on a body, except 
perhaps for removing small grease or oil spots. Use a small 
piece of cloth well covered with castile soap suds for removing 
grease on the panels and use water freely afterwards. Some 
motorists saturate the cloth with gasoline for removing grease. 

If the hood should be hot do not wash it, as it is likely that 
discoloration will result. In washing the hood use only the 
soaked sponge and do the work carefully so that as little water 
as possible will work through into the motor compartment. In 
cleaning the radiator direct the stream of water from the rear 
instead of the front, for in this way no water will make its 
way into the mechanism. 

Use a clean chamois skin for drying and rub the chamois in 
straight lines. It is not necessary to completely dry the body 
by rubbing with chamois; in fact, it is best to allow a little 
moisture to remain to be evaporated. Road oil should be re¬ 
moved from the body as soon as possible. If it is found difficult 
to remove the spots by the ordinary methods, salt butter may be 
used. Spread a little butter over each spot and allow it to remain 
for about fifteen minutes and then rub the oil off. Kerosene is 
effective in removing the oil if the work is done within five 
hours. Saturate a piece of cloth with the kerosene and apply 
locally. 

The cleaning of the running gear is by no means a pleasant 
job, especially if the under parts of the car are muddy. At 
best it is a job which the car owner is not very willing to 
undertake since it takes considerable time. If it is desired to 
clean the running gear, soap and water should be used. Make 
a soap solution by dissolving two pounds of good soft soap in 
one gallon of warm water. After as much mud as possible has 
been removed by the use of clear water, use the soap suds. The 
sponge for spreading this solution should not be the same as 
that used for the body, and it is even advisable to use a different 
pail. The longer that mud is allowed to accumulate on the 
chassis, the more difficult it will be to remove, and the owner 
will see the advisability of giving it his attention as early as 
possible after the car has returned from a run. Mud under the 
fenders can be removed more quickly if a small wooden stick is 


DRIVING AND GENERAL MAINTENANCE 


25 


used for scraping, but this need not be done unless the deposit 
is rather heavy. It is worth while removing caky deposits from 
the underneath parts such as the torque tube, universal housings, 
rear axle, brake drums, etc., for the mud has a destructive effect 
in time. 

In flushing around these moving parts care should be taken so 
that no water gets to bearing surfaces. This has special reference 
to such places as the braking mechanism, the steering connec¬ 
tions, etc. 

Before using any sponge on the car it should be given a good 
cleaning in hot water. Many sponges when sold contain gritty 
substances which if rubbed over the body may scratch it. Sponge 
dealers often use “filler” in their sponges, the filler being usually 
in the form of some soluble substance of high specific gravity 
to increase the weight of the sponge. The “filler” in most cases 
will scratch the finish and cause permanent injury. Aside from 
filler the sponge may contain sand. Soak the sponge in hot 
water, in which some soap has been dissolved and squeeze it in 
the soap w;ater a few times. After the sponge has been in use 
the hot water cleaning will help materially. 


CHAPTER II 

THE IGNITION SYSTEM 

REMEDIES FOR ELECTRICAL TROUBLES 

T HE most interesting repair I have ever made was not 
unusual in any way except in its difficulty of analysis 
and the simplicity of the remedy. It was made upon the 
Atwater Kent distributer head on a Saxon four-cylinder car. 

All morning the car was misbehaving—was hard to start, 
ran on two or three cylinders, and sometimes fired in the 
muffler. But about noon it gave a couple of "tremendous 
muffler explosions and quit; just lay down in disgust and 
refused to do a thing. Earlier in the day I had traced the 
trouble to the distributer head, so now I began an exhaus¬ 
tive search for the trouble. When cleaning and resetting 
the contact points produced no results. I tried cleaning up 
the whole head, examining the automatic advance, checking 
up the firing points, etc., but found nothing apparently 
wrong, yet got no results when I tried to crank the 
car. Then I noticed that by priming the motor and turning 
it over very slowly I got an explosion or two, while spin¬ 
ning the motor produced no results. But it was an hour and 
a half, after I had carefully dissected the whole head, that 
I found the trouble in a worn latch that operated the contact 
points. This latch is of glass hard steel, is about 1 inch x 
J A inch x H. inch and is pulled forward and released by 
notches on the timer shaft. The latch is held against the shaft by 
a very light spring. 

In this case the spring had tended to hold the latch at an 
angle with the shaft, so that one corner only engaged the 
shaft notches, and the double duty on that corner had worn 
it down so that sometimes it caught (especially at slow 
speed) and most of the time it slipped off too soon. Prob¬ 
ably I was already tired and exasperated by my search for 
the trouble, for it was half an hour more after trying various 
expedients, before the very obvious remedy occurred to me 
of twisting the holding spring so that it had a pronounced 
tendency to hold the good corner of the latch against the 
shaft notches. 


26 


THE IGNITION SYSTEM 


27 


With this change everything seemed to work O. K., and 
with the spark plug lying on the cylinders I checked up 
timing, etc. But when the plugs were replaced in the cyl¬ 
inders the motor wouldn’t give a single explosion. It was 
possibly fifteen minutes before I realized that the moisture 
from a fairly heavy fog had condensed on the now cold motor 
and short circuited the plugs. Carefully drying off the top 
of the cylinders, wiping the connections and lighting a few 
drops of gasoline on each plug got things in such shape 
that the motor fired oh two or three cylinders, and as soon 
as it was warmed up it ran O. K. This latch repair lasted 
more than a thousand miles before I could get a new latch, 
and looked good for several thousand more. 

W. P. L., Woodlyn, Pa. 

Making a New Distributer Arm 

Several months ago there appeared in MoToR an article 
dealing with means to prevent the theft of automobiles and 
it was stated in effect, that the removal of the distributer 
arm was one of the most effective protections. 

I have since used this precaution when leaving my car in 
an isolated place and believed, barring the slight probability 
of a distributer arm being in the possession of the would- 
be thief that it was unbeatable. 

Recently, however, after removing the arm I emerged 
from the woods to my car and found I had lost the arm distrib¬ 
uter. Before starting on a long hike to town, I decided to try my 
luck with the materials at hand. 

The system was a Connecticut and with the use of no other 
tool than a jack knife I made a new arm and was under way 
in about forty-five minutes. A piece two inches long was 
cut from a dry limb about three-quarters of an inch in di¬ 
ameter and the sides w r ere whittled flat until the piece was 
about one-half an inch thick. With the point of the knife 
a hole about five-sixteenths deep was bored to receive the 
end of the igniter shaft and when the shaft just entered the 
piece was positioned as near as possible to conform to proper 
distribution and tapered down upon the shaft, thus forcing 
the shaft with its positioning notch into the wood. With 
the aid of a calling card the distance from the center contact 
on the distributer cap to the pins was taken and the wooden 
arm was cut to clear the pins by about one-eighth of an inch. 

A piece of aluminum strip was removed from the end of 
the running board and after some hunting a tack was found 


28 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


on the inside of the tonneau door. The strip was -scored 
with the knife and then broken into a piece which when at¬ 
tached to the top of the wood arm would make contact 
with the carbon center and just clear the pins in rotation. 
A hole for receiving the tack was then bored ;n the alumi¬ 
num, but to attach the strip so it would be close enough 
to the pins to allow the spark to pass and yet not strike 
them, presented some difficulty as this could not be deter¬ 
mined by trial without risk of ruining the distributer. The 
distnce the strip should project from the end of the 
arm was finally accurately determined by making a knife 
cut across the end of the arm and inserting a small piece 
of card, the arm then being positioned under the cap and 
the engine turned over. Several small pieces of card were 
tried until one projecting about one-eighth inch showed it did 
not touch the pins, but just cleared them. 

The aluminum strip was then tacked on accordingly and 
upon trial the engine worked perfectly. 

J. F. C., Meriden, Conn. 

Making a Broken Plug Serviceable 

A worn timer on a motor so equipped will result in mis¬ 
firing when the car is driven at any reasonable speed. 

Spark plugs become shorted and fouled with the neces¬ 
sity of frequent changes. 

With a timer in the above condition, unknowingly we at¬ 
tempted a 200-mile trip. We started seemingly all right, 
but about fifty miles out we stopped, after changing the 
spark plugs for the fourth time, to look over the ignition 
system. The timer was removed and the contact surfaces 
found to be in bad shape. The segments were worn below 
the surface of the fiber insulation. Consequently, the roller 
brush when revolving would pass the segments without mak¬ 
ing as firm a contact as needed to obtain a proper spark. 
The occasion called for some sort of improvising and we 
carefully removed the segments. Letter paper was cut into 
strips and two thicknesses placed behind each of the con¬ 
tact pieces. 

With these shims in position and the segments screwed 
up the edges while somewhat uneven, were however, flush 
with the fiber. In our anxiety to replace the feature and test 
it out, the spring which holds the roller arm and forces the 
brush into contact with the segments was dropped or in fact, 
jumped loose when an effort was being made to engage the* 


THE IGNITION SYSTEM 


29 


ends in the securing holes. A careful search failed to re¬ 
cover it and more improvising was needed if we were to 
start again. 

The particular spring used was a very small and light 
member and no wire of that needed size was at hand from 
which a similar one could be wound. We obtained a small 
safety pin from one of the party. The point and fastener 
were cut off and th ends bent to hook into the holes in the 
brush arm and fixed bracket. With the paper shims behind 
the segments and the “safety pin" spring holding the brush 
out the timer when assembled worked satisfactorily, no 
further ignition difficulties being experienced on the trip. 

On another occasion when the only spare spark plug was 
out of commission and the porcelain of one of those in the 
engine cracked at the packing nut, refusing to fire, we ob¬ 
tained further service by resorting to the following repair: 

TheJfiring pin in the center of the porcelain was removed 
and the “terminal” end of the broken porcelain discarded. 
The rough surface of the remaining part of the porcelain 
was flushed off smooth with a file. 

By assembling the center pin upside down in this part of 
the insulator and packing some layers of tire tape into the 
“petticoat” or open end of the porcelain, the washer and 
nut when replaced secured the parts firmly together. The 
inverted porcelain was assembled in the shell and with the 
gaskets in place, the packing nut was tightened down. When 
screwed into the cylinder and the motor started it fired 
faultlessly. 

Ten miles further we reached a repair shop and though 
the motor was responding on all cylinders we were not 
taking any chances—we laid in a supply of plugs. 

G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 

Ingenuity and a Blacksmith 

While on a tour recently I had an opportunity to exer¬ 
cise my ingenuity in repairing an unusual breakdown in 
my ignition system. Fortunately I was only a short distance 
from a small village, and a friendly motorist towed me to 
the small blacksmith shop which is a part of every town. 
I went over the ignition system carefully, principally the 
wiring. But when the distributor cover was removed I 
found that a small section of the teeth of the gear wheel 
carrying the distributor brush had been stripped off, which, 
of course, stopped the motor. 


30 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


This magneto makes use of a small gear on the main shaft 
to drive a larger gear on which is mounted the distributor 
brush. A set screw had worked loose and fell in the train 
of the gears and had stripped a section of the teeth of the 
distributor gear before dropping out. The driving gear 
was scarcely damaged, as it was of hardened steel, while 
the other was of a brass composition and much softer. I 
had two alternatives, either effect a repair or wait perhaps 
a week for a new part, which would necessitate giving up the 
trip. As the repair did not seem to be a very difficult one, 
I chose the former alternative, and with the aid of the black¬ 
smith I set to work. 

The distributor gear was removed and the damaged sec¬ 
tion cut out and hied square. This gear was provided with 
a shoulder, in which the teeth were cut. A piece of steel 
the thickness of the shoulder was secured, which was cut 
and dressed to ht in the cut out section. The piece of steel 
was then clamped with the gear wheel in order to 
use the good teeth as a guide. Teeth were cut in the steel 
piece with a three-cornered hie. Great accuracy was re¬ 
quired, otherwise the timing of the magneto would not re¬ 
main correct. 

In order to provide a solid foundation for the purpose of 
securing the assembly together it was necessary to ht ad¬ 
ditional pieces of steel on either side of the gear piece; in 
order to bring the entire section on a level with th shoulder. 
A thin piece of steel was then laid over the whole assembly. 
Holes were drilled and tapped and set screws run in. There 
was no particular need for great strength, as there is com¬ 
paratively little strain on this gear. 

The gear was replaced and the magneto retimed, after 
which the motor was run hve minutes. The timing marks 
were again examined and found to correspond on both 
gear wheels. The job proved entirely satisfactory and per¬ 
mitted the trip to be continued with but a few hours’ delay. 
All that was necessary was a little ingenuity and the very 
limited co-operation of a village artisan. 

N. A. S. Cumberland, Md. 

Punctured Magneto Condenser . . 

If the storage battery has become too weak to start the 
motor, it is much easier to spin the motor, with the starting 
crank, if someone holds down the starting pedal while the 
motor is being cranked. Even though the battery is very 


THE IGNITION SYSTEM 


31 


weak, there is usually enough current to help over the hard 
spots when cranking. 

If there is another car available, either on the road or in 
the garage, the current from one car can often be used 
to start the other. Care must be taken that the storage bat¬ 
teries have the same number of cells. Heavy wires must 
be used to convey the starting current from one car to the 
other, although, for temporary use, they need not be as 
heavy as the wires regularly used. 

Once, when the motor began to misfire, I found that the 
condenser of the magneto had become punctured. This was 
made evident by the sparking at the contact breaker of the 
magneto when the motor was cranked. As repairing a con¬ 
denser must be done at the factory, I simply took out all 
the spark-plugs and bent the points very closely together. 
This enabled the rather weak current from the magneto to 
jump the gaps and the motor ran fairly well until home was 
reached. This same principle, of closer spark plug points, 
can be used with a battery ignition system if the coil or con¬ 
denser becomes punctured, so that the spark plug is very 
weak. 

Murray Fahnestock, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

IGNITION TROUBLES 

OHOULD misfiring occur, due to fault in the magnet, if that 
^ type of ignition system is used, the trouble must be in one 
of the following places: the spark plugs, the distributor, the 
circuit breaker, the coil, or the wiring. 

The simplest procedure is to begin at one end or the other 
o-f the system and take up the series of tests in regular order. 
Beginning first with the plugs: If these are clean, the porcelain 
uninjured, and firing points properly adjusted, they can be passed 
over quickly, with the decision that the trouble is not there. But 
a crack of the width of a hair in the porcelain will cause mis¬ 
firing in that plug The remedy is to discard the plug entirely, 
or provide a new part. By opening the pet cocks, one by one, 
a missing cylinder, due to a faulty plug, is quickly found. 

Proceeding back along the line, taking care to examine wir¬ 
ing and connections, we next open the distributor case of the 
magneto. Trouble here is due to loose wire and connections, 
loose spring contact, and also to collected grease and vapor on 
spark gap points. It is removed by tightening connections or 
contact spring, or wiping the spark gap joints with a clean, 
dry cloth, as the case may be. 

The next step is to open the circuit breaker box containing 


32 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the platinum screw and spring contacts. Bad cases of mis¬ 
firing are sometimes due to these points being pitted. Turn 
back the screw and rub a strip of emery paper a few times 
across the contacts, or till they are bright and smooth. Then 
screw them up till the opening between, when contact is 
broken, is no more than 1-32 and no less than 1-64 of an inch. 
Before leaving the circuit breaker, see that the tappet spring 
is not broken or weak, for it must be stiff enough to cause 
the make-and-break to cover with rapidity. 

If the motor continues to miss, follow all wires leading from 
the magneto to the coil. The only thing the novice can do in 
this step, and the only thing that need be done, is to make 
sure that the wires are good and the connections secure. 
Binding posts, such as are commonly used on non-vibrating 
coils, will finally crack, and though they appear to be screwed 
down tight, do not hold firmly, thus allowing broken circuits 
and “missing” of explosions. If cracks are found in the post 
screws, discard and get new. Brighten up the contact ends, 
make the connections good, and it is very likely that your 
ignition troubles will end, for a great percentage of the 
troubles believed to be in the magneto are due to loose or 
faulty connections on the coil. Don’t tamper with the coil 
itself, and if you decide upon a new form of connection, be 
careful not to insert screws long enough to penetrate box cover, 
otherwise the coil will be ruined. It is presumed that this step 
includes also the examination of the switch and its connections 
and contacts, which can only cause trouble by getting loose. 

If the trouble still manifests itself, it must then be located 
in the current supply. The important things with the battery, 
aside from having it “alive,” are secure connections. If dry 
cells are used, test them out one by one. Discard every cell 
that falls below 7 amperes. If a storage battery is employed, 
see that the pole connections are not corroded, then test it out 
with a hydrometer. Just a little cup grease rubbed on these 
terminals before screwing the connections down will prevent 
corrosion. Where a magneto is installed and the battery is 
needed only for starting the motor, if the engine runs right on 
the latter, it can be decided that trouble is in the magneto. 
But with this series of tests fully made there is bare chance 
of trouble being found in the magneto. If so, it is located gen¬ 
erally by placing a screwdriver on the magneto to learn if 
they still retain their “pull.” Only at rare intervals do these 
lose their magnetism, and when this occurs the safe plan is 
to return the magneto entire to the makers for repairs. Some¬ 
times a slight end play of the armature causes misfiring. This 
is remedied by inserting a copper washer between the collar 
and end plate. A worn bearing at the end of the armature 


THE IGNITION SYSTEM 


33 


spindle will allow the current to “jump,” and is remedied by 
replacing with a new one. 

This will have completed the tests, provided the wiring is 
examined carefully as the examination proceeds; and it should 
result in trouble being located. Some would prefer to begin 
first with the current supply and work toward the engine. 
That is well, provided the steps in the series are followed in 
regular order. The thing to avoid is jumping haphazard into 
the middle, or into any point between the two extremes, for 
to do this leads to confusion, and generally fails of results. 

Dennis H. Stovall, Gran’t Pass, Ore. 

External Sparks 

The best ijyay to locate the causes of ignition trouble is to 
proceed systematically by a process of elimination. Cut the 
system into two parts, so to speak, finding out in which one 
the trouble is located; and then subdivide this until the fault 
is located in some one spot. Ignition trouble may be divided 
into two causes: (i) the engine will either cease to fire regu¬ 
larly and develop trouble common to all cylinders; or ( 2 ) the 
trouble will be with the sparking of some one cylinder. 

In the first case the trouble will probably be in the wiring 
common to all cylinders, most likely in the primary or low- 
tension circuit. In such cases, first inspect the current source, 
testing the battery with a meter and examining all its connec¬ 
tions and terminals. Then examine the ground wire, making 
sure all contacts are good and connections tight. In the same 
way examine the wire running to the switch, the switch itself, 
and see that all connections of the coil are tight. 

If the trouble is that one of the cylinders will not fire, the 
fault may usually be. located in the secondary or high tension 
circuit. To locate the cylinder whose ignition is at fault, open 
the pet-cocks while the engine is running. Hold the hand 
near the cocks and the cylinder \yhich is not firing can be 
quickly located by the weakness of the puffs of vapor issuing 
from it, as well as by its lesser noise. If there are no pet- 
cocks, the missing cylinder may be located by disconnecting 
the leads to the plugs if a magneto is used. Run the engine 
on one cylinder, changing about until the weakest cylinder is 
found. If vibrator coils are used, adjust the trembler of the 
cylinder whose ignition is faulty. If this does not cure the 
trouble, disconnect the high-tension lead from the spark plug 
of this cylinder and hold about one-fourth of an inch from 
the cylinder wall. If there is a good spark when the dis¬ 
tributor is on contact, the trouble is with the spark plug. If 
there is still no spark replace the spark plug connection and 


34 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


uncouple the same lead at the coil or distributor, as the case 
may be. If a good spark can be obtained by holding the end 
of the lead one-fourth of an inch from the terminal from 
which it was uncoupled, the wire must have a hidden break 

or “leak” somewhere. J. T. L., Worcester, Mass. 

» 

TRACING IGNITION TROUBLES 

TT is a noteworthy fact that the modern high-tension magneto 
* being once properly adjusted requires but little, if any, atten¬ 
tion. 

If properly protected from dirt, oil or water, and given a few 
drops of oil about once a month its owner will experience the 
gratification of perfect ignition for a season or more. 

“Don’t tamper with the workings of a magneto” is good advice 
to follow, nevertheless there are certain things which may happen 
to the best magneto, easily remedied even by the amateur. First 
be sure that the magneto is really at fault. If one cylinder gets 
a hot spark something is probably wrong with the other cylinders 
or wires leading thereto. If one of the distributor terminals gets 
a spark the others do also almost certainly. 

Next eliminate broken or disconnected plug wire, fouled or 
broken plug or plug unsuited to magneto, improper adjust¬ 
ment of plug points, corroded or improper connection of cable 
to magneto (should be clean, bright and tight), oil-soaked, 
short-circuited cable, short circuit in cable switch—no spark. 
Remember, too, that carbureter, valve and other engine 
troubles (leaks, lost compression, etc.) may stimulate faulty 
ignition so as to be almost indistinguishable. 

This elimination indicates that contact is probably not being 
properly made at one or more points in the distributor on the 
magneto. See that one or more of the carbon brushes are 
not stuck or broken or its spring weakened or lost through the 
distributor lid having become loose. A space of 1-32 inch be¬ 
tween segment and distributing points is normal in some 
magnetos as current jumps the gap. 

Either no spark or very weak: The distributor may be wet 
or short-circuited by oil or dirt—remove lid, wipe out clean 
and dry. 

The collector brush may not be making proper contact with 
distributor segment; see that it is not stuck or broken. (Close 
contact not necessary.) 

Safety gap may be too short and allow the current to pass 
here rather than at the spark plugs, especially during damp 
weather. 

The field magnets may be losing their magnetism, which would 
cause misfiring at low speeds. 


THE IGNITION SYSTEM 


35 


There may be faulty adjustment of the circuit breaker, due 
to loose adjusting screw, worn points, or worn cam. The plati¬ 
num points should have a smooth surface and be free from 
dirt or scale, best produced with fine emery cloth or very fine 
jeweler’s file. Follow instruction book as to proper adjust¬ 
ment of breaker gap, usually 1-50 inch to 1-32 inch, or about 
the thickness of a calling card. 

If the cam is much worn any attempt to properly adjust the 
breaker gap results in displacing the break relative to arma¬ 
ture position. The break should occur at the moment of great¬ 
est current wave to secure the most effective spark. Obviously, 
the break cannot thus occur with a worn cam and the remedy 
is a new one. 

This relation erf. breaking time to armature position explains 
why it is necessary in some magnetos to increase the break 
gap slightly if motor misses with spark retarded at slow speed, 
or vice versa, to decrease the break gap if motor misses at 
high speed with the spark advanced. 

Entire absence of current may be caused by sudden loss of 
magnetism, or disconnection of magneto from driving shaft, 
sheared gears or lost pin or key. A short circuit between 
armature or coil secondary and distributor, a broken-down 
condenser, or secondary winding, are extremely unlikely to 
occur in a modern ignition system. 

If, in replacing the magneto after it has been disconnected 
from its driving-shaft (unadvisedly in most cases) the motor 
will not run even though sparks are obtained at the plugs, it is 
probable that the armature shaft has not been turned to proper 
position in relation to position of pistons in the cylinders. 
Remedy: Get one cylinder ready to fire. See that distributor 
segment is over proper point for that cylinder, then set gears 
so that break occurs. W. R. I., Tucson, Arizona. 

Keep It Clean and Dry 

The average high-tension magneto, when in good order, re¬ 
quires very little attention. Keep it free from dirt, water and 
oil, and keep its wiring clean and out of contact with any of 
the metal parts of the car, letting it have as few sharp bends 
as possible. All terminals must be drawn up tight, in order to 
make good electrical connections. A drop or two of oil every 
1,000 miles or so, in the magneto oil holes, is all the lubrica¬ 
tion necessary, and the breaker box must on no account be 
oiled. Occasionally remove the cover of the latter, and slip a 
piece of fine emery cloth between the platinum contact points. 
Then gently press them together and draw out the cloth. After 
repeating this operation till the points are clean, adjust them 
to between 1-32 and 1-64 of an inch. 


36 


THE CARE OF THE f'AR 


In the case of defective ignition the fault may be found by 
the following process of elimination: When the motor misses 
on one cylinder only, the trouble is almost certain to be in the 
high-tension circuit, if the carbureter adjustment is correct, 
and the cylinder itself is in good order. Examine the spark 
plug of the defective cylinder. In a porcelain plug the insulator 
may be cracked; the disks of a mica plug are liable to become 
loose. Again, the spark may be too wide or too narrow ( 1-32 
to 1-64 of an inch is correct), or the plug is perhaps sooted. 
If none of these faults is evident, examine the high tension 
wire. A break may be detected by bending the wire slightly, 
all along its length. The broken part will bend more easily 
than any other. If the cause still remains undiscovered, re¬ 
move the distributor cap in order to see if the brush and col¬ 
lectors are in good order. Also see that the terminals are not 
loose. Sometimes, in a magneto whose distributor brush is 
pressed by a spring against the collector ring, the latter may 
be short-circuited by particles of metal or carbon which have 
been rubbed upon the insulator by the brush, as it revolved. 
If this is the case, a rag will remove the difficulty. 

When the engine misses irregularly on all cylinders examine 
and clean the plugs, and see that the wiring is proper, and in 
good condition. If spitting and backfiring accompany misfir¬ 
ing, and the trouble is not in the carbureter, two or more high- 
tension wires may have been incorrectly replaced. If not, ex¬ 
amine the distributor as above, and also note whether its brush 
is electrically connected with the high-tension collector. Next 
remove the latter, and make sure that it is in good shape, and 
that it presses against the collector ring on the armature shaft. 

In case all this fails to bring the source of trouble to light, 
the armature winding or the condenser may be punctured, or 
the magnets may perhaps have lost their strength. The mag¬ 
neto should be returned to the maker for repairs, and should 
on no account be left with any small electrical concern. 

Roy Wood, Toronto, Can. 


CHAPTER III 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED 

SYSTEMS 

REGULATING the fluid supply 

TN practically all modern carbureters there is only one or more 
^ nozzles for feeding the gasoline. Bear in mind in making ad¬ 
justments that either air or gasoline flow may be controlled, 
except in cases where fixed non-adjustable nozzles are used, as 
in the case of the Zenith. When any adjustment is made to a 
fuel nozzle there is a corresponding change in the amount of 
air drawn in. In other words, if you decrease the fuel opening 
you automatically allow a little more air to be sucked in, in 
proportion. Likewise if you adjust an air opening you auto¬ 
matically change the amount of gasoline in the mixture. 

Starting with the assumption that the carbureter is in such shape 
as to permit of running the engine, and that the ignition system 
is in ordinarily good working order, there are several means 
available to determine whether or not mixture proportions are 
correct. If the carbureter is of the float-feed automatic type, 
with spring air valve, a slight opening of the valve beyond its 
position as normally determined by the engine suction will serve 
at once to indicate whether more fuel or more air should be 
supplied. If the air valve is in an accessible position or if the 
engine suction causes it to flutter, the float valve can be manipu¬ 
lated with the same end in view. In this latter case the float valve 
can either be raised slightly, or its action somewhat dampened by 
holding the finger or the stem of a match lightly against it. This 
latter will cause the admission of somewhat more fuel than is 
normally supplied and will slightly enrich the mixture, while 
an increased opening of the air valve will cause the mixture 
to become poorer in fuel. 

It is well known that an engine will run most rapidly under 
any one set of conditions when the mixture proportions are 
just right. This being the case, the engine will speed up under 
the air valve test if the mixture is normally rich, and will 
slow down if the normal mixture is just right or a trifle thin. 
Under the float valve test, which is probably the more sensi¬ 
tive of the two. the engine will increase its speed if the mix- 


38 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


ture is normally weak, and will run slower if the normal mix¬ 
ture is correct or is already overrich. The point of correct 
setting can be determined by slightly shifting the nozzle out¬ 
let adjustment until the latter symptom of decrease in speed 
under the float valve test is apparent only after the lag has 
been applied to the protruding valve stem for some few sec¬ 
onds. Of course, one can at once begin shifting the nozzle and 
air valve adjustments about, but this method is not conducive 
to as quick location and elimination of faults. 

Having determined that the mixture proportions are at fault, 
the thing to do is to proceed to make the adjustment as nearly 
perfect as conditions will permit. As a general thing, the float 
valve adjustment, determining the level of the fuel in the sup¬ 
ply chamber, can be left religiously alone, unless, of course, 
flooding occurs. Wear of the parts operating the float valve 
can under no circumstances cause the level in the float cham¬ 
ber to lower—a thing to be remembered. If the engine dis¬ 
plays more or less impoverishment, increasing as the speed 
increases, it should be determined whether or not the supply 
line to the carbureter is free. This can be done by opening 
the float chamber drain cock, after setting a can beneath it, 
and noting the rate of flow after it has been opened sufficiently 
long to drain all reserve supply from the chamber. This flow 
should be a steady stream of about the diameter of an ordi¬ 
nary match stem; if the flow is materially less than this the 
line should be inspected. 

With sufficient fuel being supplied to the float chamber, it 
is well to determine the condition of the nozzle outlet. Most 
nozzles are provided with a needle valve adjustment. Remove 
the needle valve and examine its tapered end, and carefully 
remove any serrations or score marks that have been caused 
by forcing it onto its seat. Since the nozzle adjustment is 
usually a very fine one, perfect smoothness and truth of the 
surfaces must be had if one is to be able to make a close set¬ 
ting. With the nozzle parts in good condition it is a simple 
matter satisfactorily to make this setting. Since the average 
modern carbureter is very nearly, if not exactly, automatic in 
its action, this setting can be made with the motor running 
light. Set the nozzle adjustment so that the engine runs at 
its fastest for any given position of the throttle. 

In the air valve spring lies the chief difficulty in making 
carbureter adjustments. This spring should be of such length 
and of such gauge wire, diameter and number of convolutions 
as to provide the requisite progressively increasing resistance 
to opening, while at the same time exerting little or no pres¬ 
sure upon the valve when it is against its seat. The nozzle 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


30 


should be set for slowest running with the air valve held 
firmly against its seat, and then the spring adjustment should 
be backed off until the slightest further increase in throttle 
opening causes the valve to leave its seat. From this point on 
the only proper adjustment for the air valve becomes a series 
of tests for spring strength without alterations being made 
in its normal length. That is, with the adjustment backed off 
as per the above instructions, if the spring tension with in¬ 
creased throttle openings is too light, parts of or whole con¬ 
volutions should be cut off, and the spring stretched to just 
the right length to hold the valve upon its seat until the cor¬ 
rect spring (not spring tension) is had. If the spring already 
fitted appears too strong under this treatment it can be un¬ 
wound slightly to increase the diameter of the convolutions, 
until it has been made correct. This method gives one a cor¬ 
rect spring and leaves the usual adjustment free for the pur¬ 
pose of taking up as necessary because of weakening of the 
spring due to its loss of elasticity with age. 

T. P. Stuart, New York City. 

A Series of Simple Tests 

Faulty carbureter adjustment may have either of two ill 
effects on the mixture fed to the engine: it will either contain 
too great a percentage of air or not enough. If the mixture is 
much too rich, black smoke may be seen issuing from the ex¬ 
haust pipe. Care should be taken to distinguish this from 
the blue smoke which indicates too much engine lubrication. 
In both cases the engine may also miss due to fouled spark 
plugs. If the mixture is too rich, the engine will have a 
tendency to slow up and “choke” when the throttle is partly 
closed. 

Another indication of the mixture being too rich is the fact 
that the engine will be speeded up perceptibly if the air valve 
of the carbureter be held open, or if the air be admitted between 
the carbureter and engine. If the mixture is too weak this may 
be indicated by “back firing” or popping into the carbureter. Both 
this and explosions in the muffler may indicate faulty ignition, 
however. If the mixture is too weak the engine will be speeded 
up by reducing the amount of air admitted to the carbureter, 
and will slow down or stop if the proportion of air in the 
mixture be increased. It may be speeded up by squirting gaso¬ 
line into the carbureter through the air inlet. 

The best way to adjust a carbureter is to have the engine 
run under load while the adjustment is being made. To adjust 
the average automatic carbureter, probably the best way is to 
first run the engine well loaded, but at what will be nearly its 


40 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


maximum speed on the road, with the throttle open but the spark 
rather late. This speed, of course, will be considerably less than 
the maximum speed of the engine when running idle. Begin by 
rning the main gasoline adjustment until the mixture becomes 
so weak that there is popping in the carburetor. Note this adjust¬ 
ment and then turn until the mixture is so rich that the engine 
chokes and threatens to stop. Then set the adjustment about 
half way between the two, which will be very near the desired 
point. Try turning slightly, first in one direction and then in 
the other, and set the adjustment at whatever point the engine 
seems to develop the most power and runs the fastest. Then 
gently and gradually cover the air inlet of the carbureter, placing 
the hands over the valve if necessary, in order to exclude the 
air. If the engine slows down, the amount of air should be 
increased, since not enough air is allowed to enter the carbureter. 
If the engine speeds up, however, the mixture is too weak. 
Next, try giving more air. If the engine speeds up there is not 
enough air, while if it slows down there is too much air. After 
the air inlets have been adjusted, open the throttle again and 
run at high speed for the second time, as the adjustment may 
now be somewhat different at high speeds. 

J. T. L., Worcester, Mass. 

THE HOT JACKETED CARBURETER 

'"THE function of the carbureter is to convert liquid gasoline 
into vapor, and to mingle the vapor with air in certain pro¬ 
portions. For this, two things are primarily needed; evaporat¬ 
ing surface and heat. If the gasoline is thoroughly atomized the 
surface is that of the minute liquid particles, and is greater 
as the particles are more finely subdivided. The heat necessary 
for evaporating is in this case supplied by the air itself. If, on 
the other hand, the gasoline touches the walls of the mixing 
chamber and induction pipe it will probably cling, though swept 
along by the air current, till evaporated or till it enters the 
engine in liquid form. This may occur by intention, as with 
the puddle type of carbureter, or without intention in the 
spraying type, through the spray being deflected against the 
wall by the partly closed throttle or otherwise. In such case 
the heat for evaporation must be derived largely from the 
metal surfaces. If the air is heated, only part of the heat is 
likely to be used in evaporating the gasoline, and the remain¬ 
der expands and rarefies the charge, which is undesirable. 

In most carbureters evaporation takes place by combustion 
of the above actions—atomizing in the air and wall-contact 
evaporation. The hot jacket contributes a little to help the 
wall-contact evaporation, but its chief usefulness is to pre- 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


41 


vent the intense cold due to spray evaporation near the nozzle 
from congealing the moisture in the air, and thereby causing 
the carbureter to “freeze up.” The evaporating action would 
be greatly assisted if the induction pipe were hot-jacketed for 
some distance above the carbureter. To avoid undue rarefac¬ 
tion of the charge, the air could then be taken in colder than 
would otherwise be possible. 

Herbert T. Towle, New York City. 

) Vaporization by Pressure Drop 

Vaporization is effected by a reduction in pressure or by the 
application of heat to the fuel. That part of the fuel which 
vaporizes through pressure reduction does so through the ab¬ 
straction of heat from the remainder. That part which vapor¬ 
izes through the application of heat does so through the ab¬ 
straction of heat from the surrounding air and carbureter 
passages. If the nozzle delivers a true mist spray no hot 
jacketing will be required. However, if the division is coarse, 
the fuel will be spread over the walls of the passages and a hot 
jacketing will be necessary. The latter conditions obtain in 
nearly all carbureters at low engine demands, observation 
through transparent mixing chambers disclosing the fact that 
the fuel leaves the nozzle in a solid stream or in large globules. 
These globules must be vaporized before reaching the engine, 
or the mixture will be stratified. The mixture from a jacketed 
carbureter is undoubtedly better under ordinary circum¬ 
stances, and the greater the heat supplied the better will be 
the mixture. Much can be urged in favor of high charge ve¬ 
locities, which result in greater pressure drop and more rapid 
agitation of the mixture, but constant high charge velocities 
may only be secured through the multiple jet. 

J. C. Carpenter, Houston, Tex. 

Refrigeration Must Be Compensated for 

In considering this question we have to deal with the results 
obtained by applying heat to the carbureter walls through a 
water jacket, as opposed to a carbureter unheated except as it 
is located close to the engine cylinder or is provided with a 
warm air supply. 

The action of the spray nozzle in a carbureter is similar to 
that of an ammonia expansion valve in an ice machine. There 
is a considerable reduction in temperature in the carbureter, 
really an expansion chamber, but not so called. An unheated 
carbureter sweats and in some cases is covered with frost. 
Even then a good mechanical mixture is often obtained, but 


42 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


invariably a portion of the gasoline suspended in the air is 
deposited on the manifold walls before the hot combustion 
chambers are reached. Aside from the correct proportion of 
air and gasoline, the best mixture should be as near a vapor 
of true gas as possible. Consequently some heat must be ap¬ 
plied to the vaporizing chamber. The best method is to uni¬ 
formly heat the carbureter walls with hot jacket water, there¬ 
by supplying the engine with a temperate vapor, instead of a 
refrigerated mixture which may be power producing but is 
uneconomical, • or a hot blast mixture that is economical but 
weak. M. F. Bates, Dayton, Ohio. 

The Jacketed Carbureter 

In the typical carbureter, vaporization is accompanied by 
the abstraction of heat from the surrounding air, the fuel and 
the passage walls, and these must be maintained at or above 
a certain temperature, else vaporization will not be sufficiently 
rapid or will cease. 

The vacuum, or pressure reduction, which accompanies the 
cranking of the motor, is so slight as to have little effect on 
vaporization of the fuel, and it is customary to close the air 
port by a valve in order to increase the vacuum about the 
nozzle and thereby have more fuel available for vaporization 
Even then the fuel leaves the nozzle as a liquid, and almost 
all of it persists in that form. If the fuel division at the nozzle 
were fairly fine, a pre-heating of the initial air would suffice, 
but, since the fuel division must necessarily be coarse, a stream 
of fuel will be spread along the walls of the carbureter and 
intake manifold, and a heating of the walls will be the better 
method. This is accomplished in various ways: by the appli¬ 
cation of cloths wrung out of hot water, by pouring gasoline 
into the cylinders or into the intake manifold, and by other 
and less simple methods. I have devised a method which is 
not only safe and efficient, but very convenient. 

Using a water-jacketed carbureter, I place inter-connected 
three-way valves in the circulating system, both above and 
below the carbureter. From the third leg of the upper three 
way valve I have carried a copper coil upward around the 
induction pipe and placed a small funnel at the top of this coil. 
Both three-way valves being linked and operating together, 
the circulating system of the carbureter may be disconnected 
from that of the engine, and hot water may be poured into 
the funnel, passing thence through the coil and the carbureter 
jacket, heating both the induction pipe and the mixing cham¬ 
ber. As soon as the water comes warm from the lower valve 
prime the carbureter and crank the motor. 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


43 


In case the carbureter is heated from the exhaust, there wilt 
be no necessity for the lower valve. In either case the valve 
or valves may be operated from the dash, and at higher 
speeds and throttle demands the carbureter may be cut out of 
the circulating system if it is found that more power is had 
in that way. J. C. Carpenter, Houston, Tex, 

BACp FIRING IN THE CARBURETER 

A SLOW burning charge is the cause of backfiring into the 
intake manifold and carbureter, fire remaining in the cylinder 
through the exhaust stroke and igniting the gas in the manifold 
at the opening of the intake valve. This slow burning charge is 
usually lean, lacking in gasoline, the air predominating and 
separating the particles of gasoline so greatly that the flame 
has difficulty in “jumping the spaces,” doing so slowly and pro¬ 
longing the time of combustion. 

The remedy lies, of course, in obtaining a better mixture, and 
the seat of the trouble is the carbureter, which is admitting 
too much air, or not enough gasoline. The spring of the air 
valve should be tightened, or its amount of opening less¬ 
ened, which will cut down the air. In case the carbureter sud¬ 
denly develops such a disability to deliver a proper mixture, 
and the air valve seems as usual, it is well to inspect the 
needle valve, which may be partially stopped up, or the nut 
on the needle stem may have become loose and allowed the 
needle to work down. 

If the trouble does not seem to be with the carbureter, in¬ 
spect the intake manifold. Sections of gasket have been known 
to drop out, admitting air, and the manifold to become loose 
on its studs. The latter will, of course, be noticed as soon as 
the carbureter is touched. 

An over-rich mixture is another cause of backfiring into the 
carbureter, though not as common as the lean mixture. Gaso¬ 
line predominates, and the flame has a hard time finding 
enough oxygen, with the result that, as in the former case, 
flame is left in the cylinder when the intake valve opens, and 
ignites the incoming charge back through the intake mani¬ 
fold to the carbureter. . . 

Another and still less common cause is carbon deposit. A 
projecting point of carbon in the cylinder becomes red hot, 
and retains its heat through the exhaust stroke, igniting the 
incoming charge. Backfiring through the carbureter from this 
cause is always preceded by violent and characteristic pre-igni¬ 
tion knocking, the point of carbon at first not being hot enough 
to ignite the mixture until it is compressed. After the motor 
has^run long enough with this pre-ignition the carbon becomes 


44 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


hot enough to ignite the charge as it comes in. The remedy is, 
obviously, remove the carbon, by either chemical or mechani¬ 
cal means. S. W. Seley, W. Philadelphia, Pa. 

“Lean Mixture” 

Incomplete combustion caused by an impoverished mixture 
is that condition which causes a motor to backfire into the 
intake pipe and carbureter. 

The mixture may be impoverished by a carbureter adjust¬ 
ment admitting a surplus of air, in some cases only at the 
higher motor speeds, or by leakage at some one or all of the 
joints between the carbureter and cylinders. It may also be 
impoverished by admitting an insufficient supply of gasoline 
past the needle valve with correct air adjustment. 

As an impoverished mixture, otherwise known as a lean 
mixture, burns slowly and spasmodically, owing to the excess¬ 
ive amount of oxygen present necessary for the combustion of 
the charge, there is at times a portion of it still burning at 
the end of the exhaust stroke, and as the inlet valve opens 
it fires the gas contained in the intake pipe and carbureter, 
because of the fact that this gas is moving towards the cylin¬ 
ders at a slower rate of travel than that of the flame propa¬ 
gation ; but as this does not happen at every intake opening, 
the next inspiration stroke or one closely following it again 
starts the flow of gas through the carbureter, and puts the 
engine in operation until the same thing occurs again. 

I have also known of cases where carbon deposits becoming 
incandescent have ignited the gas during the inspiration 
stroke and caused the same action. 

Frank Kelty Green, Salem, N. J. 

Cause of Fire 

Backfiring to the carbureter is a dangerous disorder, for it 
is a possible source of fire. For this reason, if for no other, 
it should be eradicated at the earliest opportunity. One of 
its most common causes is weak mixture. The rate of flame 
propagation in such a charge is comparatively slow, for the 
excess of air over and above that necessary for complete com¬ 
bustion is not only useless but is a great hindrance to the 
latter. It dilutes the mixture unnecessarily, and absorbs a 
good deal of the heat liberated by the fuel. Under such con¬ 
ditions the charge may still be burning when the inlet opens. 
This will probably ignite the fresh mixture, with the result 
that the flame will shoot back through the manifold to the 
carbureter. This tendency to backfire is at its height when 
the motor is running with a retarded spark, for then ignition 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


45 


takes place later in the cycle, and hence the combustion will 
not be completed until a correspondingly later period. When 
a weak mixture is the cause of backfiring, the latter is gen¬ 
erally accompanied by occasional missing in the engine. The 
obvious remedy for this is carbureter adjustment, which can 
be easily effected. Before doing so, however, it would be well 
to see that -the inlet pipe has no flaws, and is perfectly gas- 
tight at its^ connections, in order that each cylinder will re¬ 
ceive a uniform mixture. 

Another fruitful source of trouble is carbon deposit in the 
cylinders. This is largely due to excess of gasoline, and here, 
again, carbureter adjustment is necessary. Carbon forms a 
paste with cylinder oil, which hardens on the walls of the 
combustion chamber. The rough, uneven surface of this coat¬ 
ing occasionally becomes (incandescent, thereby igniting the 
incoming charge, which consequently burns back through the 
manifold. 

Backfiring may sometimes be traced to leaky inlet valves. 
However, this disorder is rare, for the latter are not so liable 
to pitting, parping or carbonizing as are those of the exhaust. 
A leaky valve forms a passage between the cylinder and inlet 
manifold, and consequently flame may blow through it into 
the mixture. Valves should be tested for leaks by removing 
the valve caps and placing a little kerosene around their seats. 

Roy Wood, Toronto, Canada. 

Variety of Causes 

The “popping” in carbureters may be attributed to four spe¬ 
cial causes, namely: i, the mixture; 2, leaks; 3, valve timing; 
4, ignition timing. 

1 . (a) A weak mixture is the common source of “popping” 
in carbureters, and the cause of probably nine-tenths of it. 
The carbureter may deliver a good mixture at slow engine 
speed, but when engine is suddenly speeded up the action of 
the auxiliary air valve is too great for the amount of gasoline 
sprayed, and a popping in carburetor results from the weak 
mixture. A tightening of the auxiliary air valve spring (thus 
reducing the quantity of air) will remedy this. The same 
action may be realized by running car slowly under load o 
high gear* with wide-open throttle, and may be remedied by 
lessernng the air supply. Anything that hinders the flow of 
gasoline through the needle valve will make a weak mixture 
and cause popping, such as water in the carbureter, needle 
valve partially stopped, gasoline level in carbureter too low, 
a poor grade* of fuel, or upon starting engine in cold weather 
when the gasoline is slow to vaporize. Sometimes a water 


46 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


jacketed carbureter will give weak mixture until it is heated by 
the circulating water, (b) A too rich mixture, however, may 
burn so slowly that when inlet valve opens the flame is still 
in the cylinder, and fires gas in manifold, when inlet valve is 
opening for a fresh charge. 

2. (a) Leaks in manifold or carbureter connections to mani¬ 
fold will make the mixture weak and are very annoying and 
hard to find, especially if these are in the form of cracks or 
flaws in manifold or gaskets. A very close examination for 
leaks will repay the trouble. Gasoline may be squirted from 
an ordinary oil can upon suspicious joints or places around 
manifold, and a leak will slow down motor on account of a too 
rich mixture, but if the motor is receiving a very clean mix¬ 
ture it may speed up motor temporarily, (b) A bad leak in 
the exhaust valve of one cylinder will cause that cylinder to 
fire from the exhaust of the adjacent cylinder; that is, if both 
cylinders exhaust in the same chamber, and if its inlet valve is 
open it will backfire in carbureter. 

3. (a) An exhaust valve may be so/out of time that it will 

not seat, the action being the same as 2 (b). (b) The inlet 

valve spring, if too weak will not seat valve properly or valve 
may leak badly, or the stem may be gummed up so that it 
closes sluggishly, or valve may not close in time; any of these 
will allow the flame to pass into the manifold and backfire in 
carbureter. 

4. (a) The ignition, when occurring too late, may cause the 
gas to be still burning when inlet valve opens the same as in 
i (b). Also a weak spark will take longer to ignite and burn 
the gas than a hot spark, and the charge in cylinder will be 
slow in attaining its height, (b) A ground caused by loose 
wire or frayed ends may cause spark to occur in cylinder at 
any time during its cycle. A weak mixture burns with much 
more rapidity than a proper mixture, and ignites very easily, 
but when compressed it will not fire. 

Robert L. Whitcomb, Evergreen, Ala. 


ON THROTTLE OPENING 

/''MVEN a perfect, automatically compensating carbureter, cor- 
rectly adjusted, to continue with wide-open throttle would 
be proper when the motor slows down on the hill. No carbureter 
has, as yet, reached perfection. For that reason, in such events, 
an improvement in motor action is obtained quite frequently, if 
not sufficiently often to make the rule by a manipulation of the 
throttle, the best position being found by the “feel.” 

When the motor slows down on a hill, the velocity of inrush- 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


47 


ing air is decreased, thus raising the pressure at the gasoline 
nozzle to a closer balance with the atmosphere pressure on the 
gasoline in the float chamber. Less liquid is thereby forced 
into the air stream with a resulting “starved” mixture and weak¬ 
ened power. 

Compensating devices are designed with a view to keep the 
mixture constant at all motor speeds, by regulating the ve¬ 
locity of the air, or pressure reduction at the nozzle, so that 
the correct quantity of gasoline will be injected to make a per¬ 
fect mixture. Many perform very satisfactorily, but it is 
evidently very difficult to design a simple yet sufficiently sensi¬ 
tive device to compensate perfectly when the motor is draw¬ 
ing a large volume of air at high velocity, and then a much 
lesser volume at a much lower velocity through the same size 
orifice. It is the failure of the carbureter to perform this com¬ 
pensation that makes it possible for the operator to improve 
the mixture and pulling power of the motor by partially clos¬ 
ing the throttle. 

In closing the throttle, a change is effected in various ways, 
governed by the design of the carbureter. A less proportionate 
amount of air passes through the auxiliary port; the throttle 
closing near the nozzle chokes the air stream and increases the 
velocity and homogeneity of the mixture. 

Should the operator be driving with a rich mixture at high 
motor speed, as so many are apt to do, then as the motor slows 
down on the hill, if the throttle is kept wide open, the mixture 
will, in many cases, gradually improve and give better results 
than will be had by manipulating the throttle. 

M. J. Roseboro, Denver. Colo. 
Altered Pressure Conditions 

After a car has started to slow down when climbing a hill 
the engine will deliver a little more power if the throttle is 
slightly closed. The carbureter is responsible for this ap¬ 
parent paradox, and its action may be explained as follows: 

The ordinary or usual type of carbureter used on gasoline 
engines to-day depends upon the vacuum produced over the 
gasoline nozzle by the engine suction for drawing and mixing 
the gasoline into the air as it passes to the cylinders. Auto¬ 
matic means are usually provided for maintaining the proper 
ratio of gasoline and air throughout different ranges of en¬ 
gine speed. Such a carbureter properly adjusted will give an 
engine a correct mixture at maximum speed with the throttle 
wide open. If the engine is slowed down considerably without 
closing the throttle, the mixture becomes weak because of the 
fact that the lessened speed of the indrawn air produces less 


48 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


vacuum at the gasoline nozzle, and this results in less power. 
Closing the throttle slightly will reduce the amount of air 
drawn through the auxiliary part without materially affect¬ 
ing the vacuum at the gasoline nozzle, and gives a more nearly 
correct mixture for maximum power at this reduced speed. 

When climbing a long, steep grade on high gear, the throttle 
should be gradually closed as the car slows down. If the 
speed still continues to diminish a lower gear must be used, 
and the throttle should be again opened. 

W. O. Lum, Amsterdam, N. Y. 

Spark Position and Throttle Opening 

In order to get the greatest power from a motor at any 
given speed, it is necessary that we get full charges of mix¬ 
ture into the cylinders, that this mixture be properly propor¬ 
tioned and that it be ignited at the correct point of the stroke. 
If we cannot exactly meet any of these three conditions, it 
may be necessary to slightly modify either or both of the 
other conditions. For instance, some carbureters can be de¬ 
pended upon to give a uniform mixture through all combina¬ 
tions of motor speeds and throttle openings. In this case, if 
the ignition is properly timed, it is best to fully open the 
throttle when the motor starts to slow down, for, although 
nothing may be gained from it at the time if the speed of 
the motor is such that full charges are going to the cylinders 
with partially opened throttle, yet, in case of some lightening 
of the load through a change of road conditions, the motor 
may then have a better chance to pick up speed. On the other 
hand, there are carbureters which are so constructed that 
with full throttle opening at low speeds the mixture is very 
much weakened. With this type of carbureter it is possible 
to stall the motor by opening the throttle too suddenly, par¬ 
ticularly when the motor is turning over slowly under light 

load. With a similar type of carbureter it may happen that 
although the throttle is partially closed, so that only partial 
charges go to the cylinders, the quality of the charges will 
be so much better than that of the full charge that better 
all-around results are obtained. 

Just what setting of the throttle is best under any condi¬ 
tions can only be learned for a given machine by experiment, 
and the realization of this fact will go quite a little way 
toward making one a good driver. In some machines fitted 
with either fixed or automatically advanced spark it may 

happen that the timing of the spark is too far advanced at 
low motor speeds for full charges under such a condition, 

even with a correctly proportioned mixture, the motor may 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


49 


be working against itself. In this case better results may 
be obtained with a partially closed throttle than with a fully 
opened one. H. H. Brown, Boston, Mass. 

Relieve the Nozzle Chamber 

If the carbureter used is correctly designed and properly 
adjusted to give a perfectly correct mixture of gasoline and 
air for all engine speeds, no better pull will be obtained from 
the engine by partially closing the throttle when the engine 
slows down on a hill. On the contrary, under these ideal 
conditions a throttling of the incoming charge will tend to 
decrease the pull of the engine and cause it to slow down still 
more. 

It is true that a great many of the carbureters on the mar¬ 
ket when adjusted for normal engine speeds do not give 
equally good results at higher or lower speeds. With one of 
these carbureters it may be advisable to relieve the vaporiz¬ 
ing nozzle chamber of the sudden inrush of air caused by a 
quick opening inlet valve with full throttle. 

This relief may, in a measure, be accomplished by partially 
closing the throttle and thus concentrating these spasmodic 
drops in pressure, due to the restricted passages, to the vicin¬ 
ity of the throttle rather than to have them distributed 
throughout the intake system. No definite answer can be 
given to this question, since different makes of cars and car¬ 
bureters behave differently and therefore require different treat¬ 
ment, adjustment and control. Recipro, Buffalo, N. Y. 

A Matter of Adjustment 

When a car is running at very moderate speed the engine 
may pull better by partially closing the throttle, but if it 
does it indicates that a good mixture is not being supplied, 
because the carbureter is either too large, is not properly ad¬ 
justed, or is not of good design. The driver should try vary¬ 
ing the fuel supply and learn whether the motor needs more, 
or whether it already has too much. Knowing this, he may 
be able to remtdy the trouble. 

Or, if better results are obtained by partially closing the 
throttle, it may be because when the car is running slowly 
the cylinders have time to fill to the limit and the conse¬ 
quent high compression does not permit the most effective 
spark to penetrate it, probably because of weak battery, poor 
coil or low magneto speed. Regularity in firing does not 
prove that the ignition is all right, for a poor spark will 
ignite the charge, but not in a way that produces the most 
power. With good mixture and good ignition it is impossible 


50 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


to conceive of obtaining more power by decreasing the supply 
of explosive mixture by partially closing the throttle. 

Frank N. Blake, North Adams, Mass. 

CONSERVING THE FUEL 

the gas-saving devices put on the market in the past, there 
have been so many backed by overdrawn claims and worth¬ 
less guarantees that most motorists have become rather skeptical 
of them. That was the writer’s attitude until about two years 
ago, when a trial purchase of a little auxiliary air valve attach¬ 
ment featured by a well-known accessory firm convinced me that 
these devices were not all bad. This device was simply a little 
butterfly valve attached to the inlet manifold and operated by a 
convenient handle on the steering post. The car to which it was 
applied was a 1913 model having a medium-sized four cylinder 
motor which had always been rather slow in accelerating and had 
lacked flexibility. To secure satisfactory idling it wa 1 - necessary 
to set the needle valve at a point which caused loading up and 
smoking when maximum speed and power were needed. The 
auxiliary air valve in the carbureter itself, although set and 
operating all right, according to a carbureter service man, failed 
to overcome this. The new air valve in the manifold corrected 
this condition to a marked degree. Whenever the pulling was 
heavy, or I wanted to explore the remote portions of the speed¬ 
ometer scale, I gave the conveniently notched steering post 
handle of this device a slight turn while opening the throttle, 
and found it very helpful. With the new valve there was a 
little less tendency to carbonize, and gasoline consumption de¬ 
creased about eight per cent, which seemed good results from a 
$4 investment. The device required no repairs in over 6,000 miles 
of use. 

In this general class of air valves there are two common types 
—one for attachment directly to or within the carbureter, and 
the other in or upon the intake manifold. Though having had 
personal experience only with the latter type, the former seems 
more liable to hamper carbureter operation and adjustment and 
more difficult to install and less accessible. 

Another classification of devices for altering the proportion 
and atomization of air in the mixture might be made into hand- 
operated and automatic types, respectively. Although some 
motorists report satisfactory results from the automatic type, 
these devices are so dependent on compression, motor tempera¬ 
ture, carbureter type and adjustment, grade of fuel, and similar 
variable factors that the manual type is preferable. 

Many different shapes and types of air valves have been pro¬ 
duced, some stationary (except when moved by an operating 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


51 


rod), and some revolving or vibrating with the intake suction. 
While the latter are claimed to produce a more energetic mixing 
action, they are generally noisy and more liable to get out of 

order. 

There are at present a good many steam injectors, vaporizers, 
and decarbonizers on the market which are claimed to save gas, 
increase speed and power, eliminate carbon, and make themselves 
otherwise generally useful. Most of these outfits utilize water, 
from the motor’s cooling system or a small tank of their own, 
to join the mixture of air and gas in the inlet manifold. As the 
water enters the combustion chamber, it is supposed to form 
live steam, which prolongs the period of combustion and converts 
carbon into carbon monoxide gas that passes out of the cylinder 
on the exhaust strokes. 

Whatever the theoretical pros and cons of the matter, I in¬ 
stalled a device of this type last summer on a little four-cylinder 
car which was giving considerable carbureter and carbon trouble, 
and I have no doubt that it was worth the $5 that it cost, be¬ 
cause it was directly responsible for smoother running, with 
much less carbort and slightly decreased gas consumption. 
Simply running the motor several minutes with the water valve 
of this outfit turned on was all that it was necessary to use it. 
By doing this regularly once in 300 miles in winter and every 
200 miles in summer, I have had no serious carbon trouble in 
almost a year, or about 4.700 miles and have saved at least 
twelve gallons or about $3 worth of gasoline. 

If one has a high-grade modern car and is a “stickler” for cor¬ 
rect carbureter adjustment, lubrication and careful driving, he 
will hardly find it worth while to install a special air valve, 
vaporizer or steam injector; but my experience leads me to be¬ 
lieve that the average owner with the average car will gain more 
than its cost in purchasing well known equipment of this kind. 

Donald McClean, Detroit, Mich. 

Experience the Only Teacher 

In common with others, I have tried many of the auxiliary 
devices designed to improve the performance and efficiency of 
an automobile, but the result was more often unsatisfactory than 
productive of any desirable result. 

My first experience was with the so-called automatic air valves, 
a device screwing into the intake manifold and designed to admit 
air to mix with the gas charge, proportioned to the suction from 
the engine. The device proved of no value whatever with the 
carbureter properly adjusted, in fact made the mixture too lean 
at high speeds. By setting the carbureter at a point that secured 
smooth running when cold the use of the air valve increased 
the gasoline mileage twenty per cent, but the increased figure was 


52 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


practically the same as with the carbureter set for a warm engine. 
The general experience was that the device is only beneficial 
where the carbureter is improperly adjusted. 

But those devices designed to inject steam into the manifold 
have some real meritorious points. I have used one of those 
devices for over a year and still have it, although have never 
secured the results claimed for it. The claim is made that steam 
will remove carbon, but I have found this to be misleading I 
have never been able to find that steam injection had any notice¬ 
able effect on existing formations, but once cleaned the con¬ 
tinuous injection of steam will keep the engine practically free 
from carbon. The only way to use a device of this character 
is to clean the engine, then install it and the engine will be kept 
in good trim for a long time. The injection of steam will slightly 
raise the maximum compresson and give a quick-firing mixture 
and a snappier engine. In this respect you can liken the results 
obtained from steam injection to the noticeably improved engine 
performance in the evening or immediately preceding a rain 
storm. 

I have also tried a few of the many gasoline energizers. What 
good there was in any of them was more than offset by the 
harmful effects on the engine. Most of these fuel energizers use 
camphor as a basic material. If these dopes are used for any 
length of time the camphor will badly gum up the piston rings 
and cylinders and may even cause the pistons to stick. 

The best gasoline saver is the hot spot device on the manifold. 
This arrangement takes on a number of different forms, but they 
all make use of the exhaust gases to better vaporize the fuel. 
During the cool weather of this spring I have increased my gaso¬ 
line mileage as high as 25 per cent, to say nothing of the remark¬ 
ably improved engine performnace. A device of this character 
is absolutely necessary with present grades of fuel, all of the 
new cars being so equipped in some manner. 

The claims made for many of the so called gasoline savers 
are based on tests that do not represent the most general run¬ 
ning conditions and therefore are apt to be misleading. The 
fact that some devices prove absolutely worthless does not nec¬ 
essarily condemn them all, but the great difficulty is in determin¬ 
ing those with merit. Here, as in other cases, experience is the 
best and only teacher. 

N. A. S., Cumberland, Md. 

Steam-Cleaning the Gasoline 

Everyone who drives on a cool evening at dewfall has noticed 
an increase in the power of his engine. It is apparent from this 
phenomenon that if the air is slightly moist it will assist in pro¬ 
ducing a better mixture. That the introduction of some moisture 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 53 

into the intake pipe will produce a similar effect is evidenced by 
the increase of power that usually accompanies the use of a 
vaporizing device. 

Carburetion, or the mixing of air and fuel, is a big problem 
today and is attracting the attention of every automobile < 
gineer. The point at which gasoline will vaporize is constantly 
going up the scale, or to state the fact more clearly, the quality 
of fuel is dropping steadily. As an actual fact, the lower test 
fuels, such as kerosene, contains more heat or power units, and 
should there be a carbureter designed that would enable one to 
utilize the power units of kerosene as fully as those of gasoline, 
the car mileage per gallon of fuel would increase greatly. 

The writer’s car is fitted with a Zenith carburetor with hot air 
attachment and is at present running on half gasoline and half 
kerosene, but the great difficulty at first in using the kerosene 
was its effect upon the spark plugs, in making them soot up 
badly and causing loss of power on hills. Going into these con¬ 
ditions thoroughly, the writer tried out several suggestions 
offered by friends, but finally constructed a device to remedy this 
trouble by fixing a water by-pass to run into the hot air attach¬ 
ment above the exhaust pipe (about 15 drops to the minute) 
which was flashed into steam and carried in with the hot air to 
the cylinders. The car with this attachment has been run all the 
past year, the engine being in perfect condition, the plugs not 
sooting up readily as this device seems to keep the carbon thus 
formed quite soft. 

It is noticeable that a number of cars hereabouts are fitted 
with a device which combines a gas economizer, a super heater, 
an electric super heater, a primer and a decarbonizer, all in one, 
and from their owners’ experiences are, in every instance, giving 
excellent and constant service. This device primes raw gasoline 
up to the electric or super heater which transforms the gasoline 
into gas, delivering it into the manifold pipe, thoroughly mixing 
with the incoming charge, causing the engine to start instantly 
under any temperature. 

With the low grade gasolne now being used, difficulty in start¬ 
ing is not the only drawback; there is always the chance of a 
certain proportion of the gasoline not. being translated into use¬ 
ful work under normal running conditions, and therefore being 
wasted. All unburnt portions of the gasoline have a deleterious 
effect on the properties of the lubricating oil., with which they 
mix, and also tend to cause rapid carbonization of the pistons 
and combustion chamber and to foul the spark plugs. To over¬ 
come these conditions, the gasoline must be vaporized and 
burned. Experience shows that the application of heat to the 
carburetion system is the most practical means in assisting to 
this end. Such heat is usually derived from the exhaust gases, 


54 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


or the water circulation system, or by means of air heated in 
passing through a chamber surrounding the exhaust pipe. 

Practically every carbureter has some form of adjustment 
which modifies the quality of the slow running mixture. This 
adjustment is provided mainly because of the different air tem¬ 
perature at various seasons, but also because the total of air and 
compressions leakage in an engine varies considerably. Metal 
surfaces wear and washers rot. Consequently, this quality ad¬ 
justment deserves complete comprehension by every car opera¬ 
tor and amply repays time spent in adjustment. How many 
readers of MoToR have touched this adjustment and how many 
know where it is and what it is like on their carbureters. The 
writer finds it pays to reset his every three months on an aver¬ 
age. Neglect of every car operator to do this is responsible for 
many of the starting troubles which they ascribe to bad gasoline 
and cool weather. 

J. Gilman Frederick, Edgewood, R. I. 


TROUBLE IN THE FUEL SYSTEM 


SPHERE are three systems of fuel feed on the present- 
day cars; these consist of first, the vacuum system, the 
gravity system and the pressure system. The vacuum sys¬ 
tem, although the newest system of the three, predomi¬ 
nates to-day, followed by the gravity and, lastly the pres¬ 
sure system. 

There are several troubles which may be encountered in 
all three systems, mainly a stoppage of the fuel, due to the 
presence of water, causing irregular firing and in some in¬ 
stances failure of the motor. These faults may be remedied 
and avoided by draining the line and tank occasionally at 
their lowest point and blowing out the line with compressed 
air or a good foot pump. 

The vacuum system is now used on the majority of cars. 
This system seldom gives much trouble, but its occasional 
failure will puzzle the motorist who is not familar with its 
parts and their functions. 

The system consists of three main parts. They are the 
outer chamber, the inner or vacuum chamber and the head 
to which the valves and float are attached. The outer 
chamber is simply a container and will give no trouble, ex¬ 
cept perhaps an occasional leak, which may be easily soldered. 
The inner chamber has only one part which could give 
trouble, which is the flapper valve; if the system is taken 
apart for any cause, this should be examined for a good 
seat; ff the same is not tight it may be remedied by rub- 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 55 

bing the valve back and forth on a fine mill file, rotating at 
the same time. The seat should be given like treatment 
until a perfect seat results. The head with valves and float 
is, perhaps, the most complicated part and more likely to 
give trouble. This may be caused by a logged float, broken 
springs, or bad valves and seats. A logged float may cause 
too high a level to be maintained, causing gasoline to be 
drawn directly into the motor, causing irregular firing or 
its failure altogether. This may be remedied by placing the 
float in hot water, when the leak may be located by bubbles 
issuing from same. This leak should then be enlarged and 
another hole punched directly opposite to allow the fuel to 
run out. When this has drained entirely from the float the 
holes should be soldered, using as small an amount of 
solder as possible to prevent increasing the weight of the 
float. 

The two cold springs may be tested by moving the float 
up and down and noting if the valves are tripped quickly and 
securely. If their action is delayed or weak, new ones should 
be substituted. The valves should all be tested for a good 
seat by closing same, sucking the air from the outlets and 
placing the tongue over the openings. If the air enters 
around the valves they may be seated by grinding in with 
a little pumice stone and water. When putting the system 
together examine the gaskets and renew same if torn or 
in bad condition. The vacuum line must be airtight and 
the fine gauze cleaned of sediment when the system will 
operate successfully. 

The gravity system offers no complications and will give 
no trouble, except an occasional cleaning of the line and con¬ 
tainer, as with the vacuum system this tank or container must 
have a free vent in the top to allow the air to enter as the 
fuel is used. 

The pressure system seems to be gradually losing favor. 
This system consists of an air-tight fuel container and some 
attachment to supply air pressure to the same. This must 
be supplied to the tank by a small pump when the motor is 
idle. The air line and valves must be in good condition or 
there will seldom be sufficient pressure for the morning start. 
The operation of the pressure system may be checked by the 
dash air gauge, and its failure may be due to leaky air lines, 
leaky tank or filler cap, and air pump failure. The remedy 
for all but the latter is obvious; if the pump is at fault it must 
be removed and tested for bad valves, broken spring, worn 
plunger or barrel. A. W. Hubbell, Lockwood, Mo. 


56 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Dirt Is the One Great Enemy 

Cleanliness and common sense are the only things needed 
to keep the vacuum fuel feed system in perfect order. I 
allude to the system which I have had on three cars and 
which, barring one trouble of which I will tell later, has not 
caused a moment’s difficulty. 

There are just three points about which to be careful in 
the use of this system: 

1. Open the pet-cock at the bottom of the vacuum tank 
once a week and drain a few tablespoonfuls of liquid from 
the tank. The liquid thus drained will be found to contain 
some water and more or less dirt in addition to gasoline. At 
times, it may be necessary to run a wire into the pet-cock 
opening in order to clear it. This happens only if very dirty 
gasoline has been used, or if the weekly draining has been 
neglected. There is a stand-pipe at the bottom of the tank 
that allows the dirt and water to accumulate, but if they rise 
above the level of this pipe they will be carried over to the 
carbureter and trouble will ensue. 

2. Clean the little strainer at the top of the tank, where the 
gasoline supply enters, at least once a month. Also, if the 
carbureter has a strainer (most of them have nowadays), 
clean this too. Remove them both, shake them up in a glass 
partly filled with gasoline and see that the fine meshes are 
clear of dirt and lint before replacing them. A dirty strainer 
on the tank will cause it to get gasoline too slowly. A dirty 
strainer on the carbureter will starve it—and, while the car 
will apparently be all right at moderate speed or with a light 
load, it will be loggy and lack power on a long pull or when 
speeded up. Dirty strainers are often responsible for many 
baffling difficulties. 

3. Don’t let your main gasoline tank get empty. In the 
course of a few thousand miles a good deal of dirt and water 
accumulates at the bottom of a tank, unless you strain every 
drop of your gas through chamois—which few drivers do. 
When your tank runs low, this stuff, which is at the bottom, 
is drawn into the fuel line, vacuum tank and carbureter, and 
the only remedy, in most cases, is the complete dismantling 
and draining of the fuel system. Use a little forethought. 
Look at your gauge before you start anywhere and keep 
your tank at least one-quarter full all the time. 

The one troublesome experience that I had with the vacuum 
tank was on account of a leaky float. When the float leaks 
it fills with gasoline and becomes too heavy to let it rise and 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 


57 


close the valve that shuts off the suction from the intake 
manifold. The gasoline is then drawn into the intake, and in 
addition to the normal supply from the carbureter, it makes 
a very rich mixture. The engine chokes, spits, runs on one 
or two cylinders only, you have muffler explosions, black 
smoke and all the other evidences of an over-rich mixture. 
Naturally, your first impulse is to change your carbureter 
adjustment—but don’t do it. Disconnect the pipe that leads 
to the intake manifold and hold your thumb over the end of 
the pipe to shut off the suction. Then, if the engine runs 
normally, you know that the float is wrong and the carbu¬ 
reter is right, because what you have done has simply con¬ 
verted your fuel feed system into a gravity feed. 

Now for the remedy: Re-connect the suction pipe and 
remove the little plug in the top of the tank. In some motors 
this will leave the motor with enough suction to draw gaso¬ 
line into the vacuum tank, but not enough to permit it to be 
sucked into the manifold. If this doesn’t work, refill the 
vacuum tank through the opening left by the removal of the 
plug (I always carry a clean oil gun and a length of rubber 
hose for this and similar emergencies). Then run as far as 
your tank-full will carry you, repeat the process, and make 
your way to^the nearest garage or service station. It is an 
easy matter to repair a leaky float at home, but I don’t 
recommend it as a pastime on the road. In any event, don’t 
try to run home with pure gasoline being pumped into your 
cylinders, unless you are prepared to pay for cylinder regrind¬ 
ing, new piston and rings, and possibly a new set of bearings 
—all of these being among the pleasant possibilities of 
“taking a chance.” 

There are other things that may go wrong with a tank, 
but they are of rare occurrence. The flapper valve (the valve 
between the upper and lower chambers) may go out of com¬ 
mission as a result of being held off of its seat by a bit of 
dirt. Nine times out of ten a smart tap on the side of the 
tank will dislodge the dirt. If the various connections are 
allowed to work loose, all sorts of mysterious troubles will 
appear. But dirt is the great enemy—and, as I said at the 
beginning of this article, if cleanliness and common sense 
are used the vacuum feed system will prove itself a faithful, 
dependable servant to the motorist. 

W. S. Hamburger, Baltimore, Md. 


58 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


A Little Care, A Little Attention 

The shellacked cork float, when this is used in the carbu¬ 
reter, will invariably, after three or four years’ use, become 
loaded or saturated with gasoline, causing the gasoline in 
the chamber to rise above the normal height or flood. 

The remedy is to replace the float with a new one, if 
obtainable, or repair the damaged float by first removing it 
and immersing in alcohol for three hours or more. This 
softens the shellac, and with a clean rag the cork should be 
wiped clean. The quickest way to dry out the cork is to 
place it on a radiator or on some warm, but not hot place. 

Two coats of shellac should be put on the cork, by immers¬ 
ing it in a thinned solution of shellac and alcohol, with two 
hours between the coats. After allowing the last coat to set 
for about five hours, the float is ready to be replaced. 

The float needle valve and seat, after use, become rough¬ 
ened. This allows the fuel to flood the float chamber and 
dribble down. A particle of grit or dirt lodged on the seat 
will cause the same difficulty. Flushing the carbureter will 
dislodge the dirt usually, but if dripping persists after this 
treatment the needle point should be ground in on its seat. 

Use a paste of flour of emery and oil to restore the rough¬ 
ened surface to a smooth seat and finish the grinding with a 
little powdered pumice stone and oil. 

Before replacing the carbureter on the manifold, a simple 
method of testing float and needle valve repairs is with a 
glass bottle and a rubber tube. 

Fill the bottle partly full of gasoline and connect it up to 
the inlet union of the float chamber. 

Raising the bottle above the chamber permits the fluid to 
run into the carbureter, when you can watch the action of the 
float and valve. To make further adjustments, the needle 
valve is depressed and the gasoline runs back into the bottle. 

The float in the vacuum fuel feed tank when one is used 
is usually a hollow metallic float. If this develops a leak, the 
fee^d supply is diminished or stopped altogether, depending 
upon the amount of gasoline which enters the float. Shaking 
the part when removed will readily indicate whether or not 
a hole in the metal exists. When such a condition is found, 
the hole should be enlarged with the point of a pin v the gaso¬ 
line drained out and the opening closed with a drop of solder. 

The gasoline piping sometimes becomes clogged and this 
is caused more often than otherwise by sharp bends in the 
pipe. The restricted area at these points will gradually 


CARBURETION AND FUEL FEED SYSTEMS 59 

0 

fill up with foreign particles. This condition does not always 
cut off the supply of fuel, but diminishes it to an extent that 
causes irregular running of the engine. 

When gasoline piping is founcLin contact with frame mem¬ 
bers or body parts of the car, it is a wise precaution to pro¬ 
tect it by a piece of rubber pipe slipped over the tubing, or 
by wrapping it well with tire tape. As the gasoline tubing 
is of thin material, the chafing at these points of contact will 
quickly wear a hole through it. A compression type of 
coupling, the size of the fuel pipe, is a good investment, and 
with one of these in the tool equipment, it is possible to 
make a permanent repair on the fuel line at any place. 

Tank leaks are commonly the cause of most difficulty with 
the main fuel reservoir, and the remedy is to remove the tank 
and solder. 

Small holes in a tank can be repaired without the removal 
of the tank by using brass puncture plugs sold for use on 
bicycle tires, or with a small bolt and nut and one or two 
faucet washers. 

To place these in the hole in the tank, a wire is run through 
the hole and out of the filler cap opening. Securing the 
screw bolt or the threaded end of the puncture plug to the 
end of the wire, it can then be brought to the opening and 
the head screwed on, making a dependable and easily 
accomplished repair. 


G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER IV 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING 

SYSTEM 

STARTING AND LIGHTING TROUBLES 

I N order to have one’s starting and lighting system oper¬ 
ating at its highest efficiency it will be necessary for mo¬ 
torists to know something about their electrical equipment. 
It is true that electricity never fails if it is given the me¬ 
chanical assistance necessary for it to do its work. When 
breakdowns do occur it is not because some unseen energy 
has failed to perform as it should, but simply because the 
mechanical conditions necessary for efficient operation have 
not been maintained. 

The maintenance of an electrical starting and lighting 
system for a motor car amounts to keeping the attention 
focused on keeping the mechanical side of the apparatus in 
good order. There are three electrical circuits on an auto¬ 
mobile; these namely, are the starting, lighting and ignition. 

Short circuits in the starting system can be located at the 
battery by removing the negative wire from the battery and 
putting one of the test lamp terminals in contact with the 
negative pole of the battery, and the other terminal in con¬ 
tact with the end of the detached negative wire. When a 
short circuit is found the lamp will generally light, unless 
some special conditions are present. 

Perhaps there is a short circuit in the entire starting motor 
caused by a ground between the starter and a second ground 
between the starter and starting switch. Where these con¬ 
ditions hold, the test lamp will not light unless the switch 
is closed. In locating trouble in the starting system observe 
carefully that none of the parts are fused or burned away, 
and also that connections are solid. Often it is difficult to 
locate a grounded or short-circuited starting switch, due to 
the insulation hiding the break. 

The ills of the starting motor are few and if any are 
present they are of a mechanical nature. On both the start¬ 
ing motor and lighting generator, dirty commutators and 


60 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


61 


minor troubles in the brushes and their holders are the chief 
troubles. Considering the commutator, if the segments are 
found to be blackened or rough due to the use of short or 
worn brushes or cheap ones with poor electrical qualities, 
and poor contact as the result of too weak spring pressure. 
Commutators should present a bright coppery appearance 
and wheiL covered with carbon dust should be cleaned. 
Brushes should make good firm contact with the commutator 
which they should fit exactly. Trouble caused by sticking 
brushes due to dirt or grease may be cured with a few drops 
of gasoline. 

Weak spring pressure may be remedied by pulling out 
the spring with the hands. Light sand paper, not emery 
should be used on the commutator to clean off the black 
accumulation. Though the amateur should not go too far 
in making repairs upon the generator or other complicated 
electrical apparatus. 

There are two main parts to the lighting system. The 
first is the battery, lamps and switch buttons and connecting 
wires, and second is the generator, battery and the cut-out 
relay system, together with fuse connections and regulator. 
To find troubles in this system it is only necessary to care¬ 
fully go over the system step by step with the use of a wir¬ 
ing diagram of the particular car where one is locating 
trouble. These diagrams can be found in the instruction 
book. The part of the lighting system consisting of the 
generator and regulator should not be repaired by others than 
experts. The makers responsibility ceases if one breaks the 
generator seal. 

The ammeter is useful in finding trouble in the lighting 
system; should the current be indicated when the switches 
are off, it suggests a short or ground. However, in testing 
the battery it is neccessary to find if the troubles are dis¬ 
tributed throughout the entire battery, or confined to one 
or more cells. This can be readily determined by placing 
a small voltmeter across each cell to show whether it is 
giving the two volts required. One of the first places to look 
for trouble is in the electrolite solution within the battery. 
Keep this up to the proper level by the addition at regular 
intervals of distilled water or melted artificial ice so that 
the plates are kept covered. This is put in once a week in 
summer and every two weeks in cold weather. The next 
point to be considered is the specific gravity of the electrolite. 
Unscrew the caps and with use of a hydrometer take the 
reading of each cell and compare each reading so you can 


62 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


tell if each one is in good order. In every case the solution 
is returned to the cell that it is taken from. Of course, all 
readings should be taken before the addition of distilled 
water. 

In a fully charged battery the reading would be between 
1,275 and 1,300. Never allow this to fall below 1,150. So 
much for ordinary care; more serious attentions should be 
left to the service station. 

1. The most common troubles are these; Battery dis¬ 
charge may be due to improper charging; or short circuit 
in the lamp system, in the battery, circuit breaking or regu¬ 
lating mechanism, or generator. 

2. Lamp shorts, bare wires touching each other, due to 
poor taping. Loose strands, bridging terminals, or defective 
sockets. 

3. Battery shorts, worn-out battery, excessive sediment 
in the bottom, acid on top of battery, sulphated terminals 
acid soaked wire. Acid may be wiped up with waste soaked 
in ammonia. 

4. Lamps won’t operate or dim with engine stopped; 
lamp shorts, switch shorts, battery shorts, wire shorts, cir¬ 
cuit-breaker shorts or open circuits. 

5. Lights out with engine running, defective generator, 
weak field magnets, burned out armature, commutator trouble, 
faulty brushes, defective circuit-breaker or open circuits. 

6. Some lamps bright and others dim, due to local trouble; 
partly discharged battery, defective circuit breaker, broken 
lamp filament, partial shorts, bad switch, connector or lamp 
socket, grounded wire, improper lamp voltage, defective or 
burned out lamp. 

7. Starting motor cranks too slowly; battery in bad 

condition, also wires, poor brush contact, commutator 
troubles, mechanical disarrangement of starter engaging 
system. A little oil in the right place at the right time 
goes a long way towards prevention of trouble, especially in 
the generator. R. L. Prindle, N. Abington, Mass. 

Locating and Eliminating Troubles 

While starting and lighting systems have been developed 
to a high state of reliability, yet this is still the weakest 
unit of an automobile and is subject to frequent derange¬ 
ment. The electrical equipment seems complicated to many, 
but only a fair knowledge of the system and a small equip¬ 
ment are required to repair practically all troubles. 


THE STARTING AND RIGHTING SYSTEMS 


63 


The commutator and brushes seem to be the most vulner¬ 
able parts. Trouble in this element usually manifests itself 
by a slow current output in the generator, or sluggish opera¬ 
tion or refusal to start in the starting motor. By removing 
the name pla^te on each machine the brushes and com¬ 
mutator are exposed for examination. If the commutator is 
blackened and rough the brushes have not been seating 
properly, causing them to arc and foul the commutator. To 
restore this element to good condition requires that the 
brushes and commutator be sanded in. 

The best method I have found for this operation is to cut 
a piece of 00 sand paper slightly wider than the brush and 
place it around the commutator for half of its circumference, 
smooth face down. By drawing the sand paper back and 
forth the brushes are cleaned and trued up to fit the com¬ 
mutator. To sand in the commutator, the motor or gen¬ 
erator should be run at low speed and a piece of the same 
grade of sand paper held over half of the circumference of 
the commutator until it takes on a bright polish. 

The best indication for a need for sanding in is a squeaking 
noise in the commutator, while one having a fine polish, 
with a bluish purple tinge, is in the best of condition. On 
the other hand, a commutator with a dark rusty color will 
usually show that the mica separating the commutator bars 
is flush with or higher than the commutator, causing the 
brushing to arc and in time burn away the copper. This 
condition materially reduces the efficiency of the machine 
and is responsible for many troubles. The car should be 
taken to an expert repairman to have the mica under-cut. 

An insufficiently charged, or discharged battery can often 
be traced to the regulator or cut-out. To check the closing 
of the circuit a voltmeter should be connected across the 
terminals of the cut-off; the contact points usually close 
at a voltage of from 6 j /2 to 7^4 volts on a six volt system, 
and from 13 to 15 volts on a twelve volt system. The con¬ 
tact points should be open when the discharge current from 
the battery to generator is approximately zero. An ammeter 
placed in circuit with the current coil will indicate the am¬ 
peres discharge at the breaking point. Should the cutting- 
in voltage be too high the air gap between the points should 
be reduced, and when properly adjusted is about 1/32 inch. 
Reducing the air gap usually has the effect of increasing the 
rate of current discharge on cutting-out, but this will be 
overcome by increasing the spring tension very slightly. 
The contact points should be kept clean and trued up with 


64 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


emery paper to touch evenly all over their surfaces. While 
there are necessary differences in the cut-out of various 
systems, the method used above is typical and adapted to 
most electric systems with but few changes. 

In common with others, I have often experienced trouble 
in the wiring of both starting and lighting systems. When 
the wiring is suspected, and the switches and terminals are 
O. K., the application of the few simple tests given below 
will readily show where the trouble is located. 

Short circuits caused by grounds can be tested for by run¬ 
ning the generator, with all lights turned on and horn and 
starting circuits open. A piece of wire several feet long 
is held in contact with the positive terminal of the battery 
and with the other end touching the frame of the car. Should 
a spark result there is a ground on the negative side of 
the wiring. The reverse application of this test will indi¬ 
cate a short on the positive side of the wiring. Obviously 
this test applies to any two wire system, since there is an 
intentional ground on the single wire system. 

Another method is to rig up a lamp tester, consisting of 
an ordinary base and six volt bulb, connected with two short 
lengths of wire. Pieces of steel, with fine needle points for 
piercing insulation, are soldered to both wires. With this 
outfit it is readily possible to isolate the trouble to one par¬ 
ticular section of the wiring, and that unit of the wiring last 
disconnected before evidence of the trouble is shown by 
lighting of the bulb, embraces the defect. 

When lighting troubles are not due to the wiring, bad 
bulbs, loose terminals or defective switches, the contacts of 
the sockets may have become corroded or the spring too 
weak to maintain good contact. It is advisable to replace 
such a socket, as time and trouble will be saved by its in¬ 
stallation. 

Fuses have given more or less trouble, particularly when 
some failure in other parts of the system should throw an 
excessive current load on the lighting system. A blown 
fuse is easily tested for by placing a screwdriver across the 
terminals. If the bulb lights the fuse is defective and must 
be replaced; if the bulb refuses to light look elsewhere. 

To those mechanically inclined and possessing a fair knowl¬ 
edge of the rudiments of modern electric systems, the cor¬ 
rection of troubles in this element should not prove edifficult. 

N. A. S., Cumberland, Md. 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


65 


Just Give It a Fair Chance 

The starting and lighting system of ouf present day cars 
is highly developed and is practically free from inherent 
defects. Trouble is directly attributable in the majority of 
cases to carelessness or lack of information of the functions 
of the various parts of the system. 

The storage battery is the weakest point of the system 
in that it requires the most attention, but even it, if given 
half a chance, will do all that can be reasonably expected of it. 

Two of my friends in the early fall were discussing the 
advisability of attaching some form of priming device to 
insure easy starting. One had decided to use a certain well 
advertised primer, while the other concluded he would not 
as his motor was “always” right. 

When their cars were put up for the balance of the winter 
the batteries were removed and I had an opportunity to ob¬ 
serve that the battery of the fellow who did not use a primer 
indicated advanced sulphation while the other battery was 
in excellent condition. 

The cause of this state of affairs was plain. A motor with 
the oil on all lubricated parts congealed requires a great deal 
more power to turn it over and the low quality of the mix¬ 
ture from a cold carburetor calls for a greater amount of 
spinning which two conditions overtx the battery. 

A good priming device, and there are several on the 
market, by insuring a rich starting mixture, would call for 
a minimum amount of motor spinning and thus greatly lessen 
the drain on the battery. 

Then also the lights are used to a much greater extent in 
the winter, thus depriving the battery of much needed charg¬ 
ing current. 

Often opportunities present themselves, especially in city 
driving to run with dimmed lights and this expedient for 
saving current should be resorted to in the winter months. 

Probably the greatest source of battery trouble and short 
life results from not keeping the plates covered by the ad¬ 
dition of pure distilled water. The addition of water should 
be made about once a fortnight during the open season, but 
it is so easy to overlook the matter that I have mounted a 
small piece of unglazed white celluloid on the dash with the 
months printed thereon in a vertical column and opposite 
these I mark the day of the month on which I inspect the 
battery. 


66 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


This matter of adding water is so important that some car 
manufacturers place a warning on the dash or floor boards. 

J. F. C., Meriden, Conn. 

Follow the Instruction Book and Be Safe 

While I have had a few troubles with the lighting and 
starting systems of my car I am willing to confess that it 
is my own fault and cannot be laid to the manufacturer of 
the different units. The troubles as I have found them 
through my friends and my own experiences are summarized 
as follows: 

Battery: Not fastened securely; neglected; overworked. 

Wires: Loose connections; worn insulation; broken ter¬ 
minals. 

Generator: Worn carbon brush; commutator needs clean¬ 
ing; cleaned and free from carbon, dust and loose metal 
particles. 

A loose battery sliding back and forth in its receptacle 
will in time cause worn insulation of wires and short cir¬ 
cuits. Distilled water kept at proper level above plates in 
battery and specific gravity of the electrolyte taken with a 
hydrometer every week in the summer and every two weeks 
in winter will save trouble and annoyance. To be on the 
safe side have the battery examined and tested by battery 
expert or service station once a month. If the battery is 
run more in the night than day it will necessitate having the 
charging from an outside source occasionally as the gen¬ 
erator will be unable to keep the battery charged fully enough 
to turn engine over. 

Next trouble can be found by not having terminals of wires 
fastened securely. Worn insulation of wires when touching 
metal will cause a short circuit. To remedy this requires 
new wire or covering of worn parts with tape. 

The generator should be inspected every 2.000 or 2,500 
miles and the commutator cleaned with fine sand paper while 
generator is running. Clean out what dirt and carbon you 
find and make sure that the insulation of commutator is 
free from all metal particles. 

Replace old carbon brushes with new ones. 

To make sure of less trouble a good policy to follow is 
to carry extra bulbs for lighting system and extra carbon 
brushes in tool box. While I have given a few troubles and 
remedies I feel that should the car owner follow the instruc- 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


67 


lion book that comes with every new car that he would not 
experience any great amount of difficulty. 


} C. A. Du Bois, Waltham, Mass. 


THE CARE OF THE LIGHTING SYSTEM 

HE most likely source of trouble in a present-day automobile 



. electric lighting system are short circuits and open circuits. 
With properly designed and constructed systems trouble from 
faulty batteries and generators should be relatively rare. 

Short Circuits—In cars where the single wire system is used 
there will be a short circuit wherever any portion of the wiring 
comes directly in contact with any metallic portion of the car. 
The same will happen with double wire system only when both 
sides of a circuit become grounded in this manner. Such com¬ 
plete short circuits will completely discharge the battery in a 
very short time and may cause irreparable damage to it. All 
lights will go out in the event of short circuits and the ammeter 
needle will indicate the extreme end of its discharge scale, unless 
the trouble is between this instrument and the battery. Lighting 
circuits should be provided with fuses, which by blowing out, may 
prevent exhausting the battery. When this is the case, the only 
caution needed is that after the inoperative circuit has been 
located by trying the different switches, the cause of the 
trouble should be removed before inserting the new fuse 
When circuits are not protected by fuses, the battery must be 
disconnected by some means as quickly as possible and the 
whole wiring system examined. 

Leaks or small short circuits which discharge the battery 
but slowly, may be detected by the inability of the battery to 
hold its charge. The needle of the dash ammeter will also 
indicate leaks when the lamps are not in use, unless they be 
between the meter and the battery. In this event, disconnect 
one of the battery terminals and connect between the cable 
and its binding post with a packet meter. If no current is 
being used at all the meter will indicate zero. Short circuits 
are not indicated by the dash ammeter when the lights are 
off, unless they be between the meter and the switches or in 
the switches themselves. 

There remain “shorts” on the lighting circuits. These should 
be switched on separately and the amount of current normally 
consumed noted on the ammeter. This will usually be found 
to be about 1-5 amps, per candlepower. Should the consump¬ 
tion of any circuit very much exceed this, the circuit should 
be examined for leaks. 

When the trouble has been narrowed down to a single cir- 


68 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


cuit, the cause of leakage will most commonly be found among 
the following: The wearing away of insulation which is in 
contact with metallic parts. The cutting through of insula¬ 
tion by metal holding slips. The soaking through of insulation 
by lubricating oil filled with metallic particles. Faulty, or 
frayed cable ends at sockets, switches; connectors, especially 
where two terminals of opposite polarity are close togethei 
and two strands may unravel and bridge across. 

Open Circuits—The going out of all lamps of one circuit, 
of course, indicates trouble in that circuit only, while the ex¬ 
tinguishing of all lamps indicates that the breakage is com¬ 
mon to all circuits. The most common causes of open circuits 
are loose contacts at binding screws, switches, connections at 
lamp sockets, besides the shaking loose of lamp bulbs. When 
the trouble has been singled down to one circuit, the writer 
prefers the bridging method of locating the trouble, taking 
each connection and length of cable in succession and bridging 
around it temporarily with a piece of wire. Leave the switch 
of the circuit on and when the lamps light the wire will be 
bridging the break. Thus by elimination the trouble may 
be expeditiously located. The most frukful causes seem to 
be located at the switches, due either to loose contacts 01 
faulty switches. 

“Push in” connectors which depend on friction for their 
contact may wear sufficiently to need a slight bending. The 
springs of Edison type connectors may lose their strength 
and thus require renewing. If both lamps of a circuit burn 
intermittently, the loose connection is probably at the switch, 
but if only one lamp is affected, the trouble is in the lamp 
socket or connector. If one lamp of a circuit goes out, ex¬ 
change bulbs. If the new bulb fails to light, the trouble is in 
the wiring; otherwise it is with the bulb. 

The electric lighting system is a delicate piece of mechanism 
and as such it behooves the motor car owner to give it con¬ 
stant and consistent care. J. T. L., Worcester, Mass. 

Testing the Storage Battery 

Being the weakest part of any electric lighting and starting 
system, the storage battery is apt to prove the source of the 
trouble in the majority of instances. Not that there should 
be any particular trouble with a well-designed electrical sys¬ 
tem, properly installed, and properly looked after, but when it 
does occur that is the most likely place to look for it. Next 
in the order of their vulnerability are the contacts, i. e., the 
switches and other movable contacts that are in constant use; 
after these, the commutator, or commutators, according to 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


69 


whether the system is a single or double unit type. Last, but 
not least, there is the wiring. If installed according to modern 
standards which call for armored cables, trouble with the wir¬ 
ing should be rare indeed, barring accidents which permit 
some moving part of the car’s mechanism to come in contact 
with it and damage it. There is still another contingency, 
but this is so rare as to be practically negligible, particularly 
as the remedy is something that would be entirely beyond the 
driver’s ability to repair anyway. This is failure of the gen¬ 
erator or motor to operate, due to damage to the armature 
windings, or possibly, to its internal connections, such as field 
leads, etc. 

Now for the system of examination. Lights do not burn 
brightly. If they have been replaced recently examine to see 
that bulbs of proper voltage have been obtained. If this is 
O. K., inspect battery. See that acid spray from vents has not 
been allowed to accumulate on lead straps and top of cell so 
as to partially short-circuit them. Use hydrometer and note 
whether battery tests 1,275 when fully charged. Add distilled 
or rain water to bring electrolyte (solution) to this point and 
to cover tops of plates. Give top and straps a good cleaning 
and if acid spray has caused any corrosion pour an ounce or 
so of melted paraffin on lead straps after cleaning, so that it 
completely protects the metal. Heavy grease will serve the 
same purpose. See that all connections are clean and tight. 
The foregoing also constitutes the procedure to be followed 
when starting motor is apparently receiving insufficient cur¬ 
rent, as the cause is apt to be the same. 

If the trouble persists, examine movable contacts and, if 
dirty, clean with very fine emery cloth, wiping them off sub¬ 
sequently with an oil-dampened cloth. Should this remedy not 
prove effective and the ammeter indicates that the battery 
is not receiving its usual charge with the motor running at 
its usual speed, examine the brushes of both the generator 
and of the starter (if two-unit). Use the emery cloth, apply¬ 
ing lightly while running, and wipe off as directed. See that 
all connections at brushes are clean and tight. This applies 
to other parts of the system, as well as the brushes. This 
failing to remedy the trouble, a partial break, ground or short 
circuit in the wiring system may be suspected, but it will 
rarely be necessary to go that far. The battery, switches or 
brushes will be found to represent the seat of the defection in 
the great majority of instances, and in about the order given. 
To reduce such troubles to a minimum the battery ought to 
be given the inspection and care described once every two or 
three weeks, while the brushes and contacts should be cleaned 
about every three months. Charles B. Hayward, New York. 


70 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


THE LIGHT THAT WILL NOT FAIL 

IN some lamps the range of adjustment, that is the movement 
of the bulb in the reflector, is so limited that a suitable light 
can be obtained only with a certain size and type of bulb. The 
owner of a car fitted with such lamps, not knowing this defect, 
may purchase bulbs merely by voltage, when, as a matter of fact, 
he should get a lamp of that voltage and of a certain definite 
type of filament. It is, therefore, essential for the motor car 
owner to use the same type of bulb in his lamps all the time, 
and in order to make sure of being able to do this, he should 
always carry a few spare bulbs with him on the car, in a special 
carrying case, designed to prevent injury or breakage of these 
fragile spares. Very often it is impossible while on the road, to 
purchase bulbs of any kind and still more frequently it is impos¬ 
sible to get the exact type and size of bulb that gives the best 
results with the particular lamp in service. All bulbs have not 
the same size globe the filament is not always of the same length, 
nor of the same shape, hence it is vitally important to find just the 
bulb that yields the best results with the lamp used and have a 
supply of that bulb always in the car ready for immediate use. 

In buying a new bulb the size of the electrical contacts on the 
base should be inspected for the reason that many bulbs have 
too much solder on the contacts. The contact pin will jam 
against this lump of solder and in many cases prevent the proper 
anchoring of the bulb in the socket. This can be remedied by 
scraping the excess solder from the contacts with a penknife, or 
it may be filed off without any difficulty. 

Carrying cases for spare bulbs are to be obtained in almost 
any supply store and they are most useful accessories in the car. 
Many communities have rigid laws for the arrest of car owners 
whose vehicles have a license pad not plainly visible at night for 
a certain distance. This is not a universal law, but one can 
never tell when he may be in a town where it is being enforced. 

In order to get the best road illumination out of the headlights 
they must be properly focused. Some owners do not know that 
lamps must be focused, while others have worked hard to get 
the proper focus and have finally given up in disgust. That may 
not have been their fault, for, as we mentioned before, some 
bulbs in some lamps absolutely prevent proper focusing. In 
focusing headlights to obtain the desired road illumination, pro¬ 
ceed as follows: Drive the car to within twenty feet of the side 
of a barn, screen or other flat perpendicular surface. Notice the 
image of the lamps. Adjust the focusing device so that the bulb 
will be as far in the rear of the reflector as possible. This should 
produce an image with a black spot in the center. If the black 
spot does not appear it proves that the socket adjusting device is 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


71 


limited in its rear movement. If the black spot is not concentric 
with the image and appears off to one side, or if the spot is not 
circular, it proves that the filament is not in the axis of the 
reflector. p 

Place the rubber end of a pencil on the tip of a bulb and move 
it in all directions noting the effect on this black spot. If by- 
moving the bulb in a certain direction the black spot is made to be 
concentric with the image it shows that the socket does not hold 
the bulb in proper position. This can sometimes be remedied by 
removing the bulb from the socket, giving it a half complete turn 
before placing it back in the socket. 

If, on the other hand, the bulb has a tendency to spring away 
from the proper position it is the fault of the socket, or focusing 
device, and can only be remedied by a lamp repairman. 

In order to eliminate this black spot adjust the bulb by moving 
it forward until you obtain the desired image. In some socket 
adjusting devices the movement toward the reflector is not as 
great as the movement away from the reflector, therefore the 
above images may be obtained by moving the bulb out of the 
reflector as far as possible. 

There are many different varieties of adjusting devices in 
modern headlamps, some of them operated by turning the bulb, 
others by turning a screw at the back or perhaps on the rim of 
the lamp. The mere turning of the adjusting device is not all. for 
some of the devices are defective so that when it is thought a 
focus is obtained the bulb is actually out of focus. In one bulb¬ 
adjusting type of lamp, the adjusting device, if sufficiently stiff to 
retain its position has a tendency to loosen the bulb from its base 
during the adjustment. This is true particularly of those devices 
in which the adjustment is obtained by rotating the bulb. In a 
lamp of this sort, care should be taken when adjusting that the 
bulb is not broken. In turning the bulb, if it is not done carefully, 
it is likely that it may be loosened from its base. In another 
form of lamp there is a spring behind the door which must be 
removed to focus. The bulb is focused and when the rim is in¬ 
stalled it displaces the reflector slightly, throwing the lamp out of 
aim. The owner must in this case compensate for movement of 
the reflector or reaim the lamp after the door has been replaced. 

There is still another form of defect which relates to lost mo¬ 
tion in the device itself, or between the socket and the bulb base. 
This play permits a displacement of the light source, that is the 
center line of the filament does not coincide with the center line 
of the reflector. This gives a distorted image from the lamps and 
very poor light. Not all lamps have adjustments, which permit 
of this trouble evidencing itself. There is, however, another cause 
of this trouble which the owner may remedy. Some bulbs are 


72 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


made with the filament center line offset from the bulb base center 
line, looking at the bulb you can see that the filament is slightly off 
to one side. The use of a bulb of this kind may cause trouble. It 
sometimes is possible when the filament is just slightly out of 
center line to remove the effect by changing the bulb position, but 
usually the effect is only slightly better. In Ford cars this is a 
common trouble sometimes caused by vibration, excessive vol¬ 
tage, or both. The trouble may come up in any make of lamp; 
however, the owner should accasionally examine the bulbs to see 
that the filaments are not drooping or otherwise thrown off center. 
Also when purchasing bulbs an examination should be made for 
filaments which are not exactly in line with the center line of 
the bulb. 

Now the illumination may be right but the direction may be 
wrong. If the lamps are adjustable this is easily corrected. If 
not, the brackets should be bent so that more light is thrown upon 
the road and none of it is higher than forty-two inches. A black¬ 
smith can bend the brackets if the car owner is not able to per¬ 
form the task himself. On some cars there are brackets that 
cannot be bent. 

Direct light is the light which comes, without being reflected, 
directly from the filament. It illuminates the road, and the sides 
of the road rirectly in front of the car. That portion of the di¬ 
rect light which rises above the axis of the lamp is practically 
useless and in the case of momentary glare tends to prolong the 
effect. Painting a portion of the globe with an opaque paint so 
that the filament of the bulb in the lamp cannot be seen above the 
axis of the lamp will eliminate useless direct light. In the case of 
the spotlight all direct light should be eliminated by the painting 
method. This will eliminate the light thrown upon the hood and 
mud guards of the car. This method makes it impossble to see 
any but the reflected light and the diffused light of the reflector, 
the latter being too small an item to be considered. 

GIVING THE BATTERY A CHANCE 

A STORAGE battery requires comparatively little attention, but 
that which the manufacturer asks be given it must be given 
at the proper time. To attempt to eat five days' rations at one 
sitting to keep one alive five days is obviously a silly procedure, 
just as much as the taking of a whole bottle of medicine at once 
instead of a teaspoonful at stated intervals. Similarly the cells 
of a battery must be properly brought to level with distilled water, 
but the owner must not follow the practice of waiting until the 
level is very low. and then pouring a big dose into the cells. This 
is mentioned just to bring out the importance of examining the 
battery periodically and giving it the care and attention that it 
deserves at the right time. 


73 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


With a clear understanding of the construction of a battery 
and the actions that gopn within it at all times, the owner is 
not liable to fall into the error of adding acid to the cells, or al- 

owing it to remain in an undercharged condition or of over¬ 
charging it. 

All the owner, whose car is equipped with a generator, has to 
do to his battery is to keep the plates in the cells covered with 
distilled or rain water, test the battery weekly or every two weeks 
With a testmg instrument called an hydrometer and keep the 
terminals clean. These, in a general way, are the things which 
must be done at least once each week in summer and once every 
two weeks in the colder weather. The time required to perform 
them should not be over ten minutes. The detail of the opera¬ 
tions and other matters relating to batteries will be taken up 
presently. ^ 


The ordinary lead battery with which most of our cars are 
equipped is commonly but wrongly called a storage battery. The 
word storage gives the impression that electricity actually is 
stored in the battery much the same way as liquor is stored in a 
barrel, or furs in a chest, ihe lead storage battery is a chemical 
machine containing plates completely covered with a sulphuric 
acid solution of a specific gravity of 1.30 at 70 degrees F. There 
are two kinds of plates in a battery—positive and negative, called 
so because of the direction of current flow through them. Cur¬ 
rent from the battery always leaves by the positive end and this 
is called plus (-|-). The negative or return is the minus (—). 
The plates are in the form of grids made of a lead alloy and the 
spaces in the grids are filled with certain lead compounds. In 
the case of the positive plates lead peroxide, which has a red¬ 
dish brown color, is used as the active material or grid filler 
and in the negative spongy lead is used. These are the main in¬ 
gredients of the positive and negative plates. 

When a number of similar plates are connected, the unit is 
called a group, and when a positive group and negative group 
are interjacent so that the positive and negative plates alternate, 
the unit is called an element. In an element the plates are pre¬ 
vented from touching one another by interposing separators be¬ 
tween each two plates. These separators in most lead batteries 
are made of treated wood, although other special forms of sep¬ 
arators are not uncommon. When one of these elements, or 
combination of positive and negative plates, is in place in a hard 
rubber jar almost filled with sulphuric acid solution, or elec¬ 
trolyte, the unit is spoken of as a cell. A battery is composed of 
cells one, two, three or more according to the battery capacity 
desired. 

When a battery is being used, that is, when it is giving off elec¬ 
trical energy, that energy is the result of chemical action between 


74 


THIS CARE OF THE CAR 


the solution or electrolyte and the plates. This chemical activity 
is going on all the time within the battery, but when the circuit is 
open, when the battery is not being used, the chemical action 
is reduced considerably. However, when the circuit is closed 
and the battery required to supply current, the action is much 
greater. The action is between the lead compounds in the grids 
and the solutions. This action results in the production of lead 
sulphate, a white compound which is deposited on the plates. In 
the production of this sulphate the electrolyte is robbed of some 
of its strength, and if the battery is left to discharge, the rob 
bing continues until the plates are all covered with sulphate. 
When this condition exists pure water is theoretically left in the 
cells, and there is no further action. The cells are completely 
discharged and the chemical action, which caused the production 
of lead sulphate, has resulted in the battery giving oft a certain 
amount of electrical energy. When the plates are only partially 
covered with lead sulphate, then the battery is partially charged, 
or it has a reduced capacity. 

When an electric current is sent through the battery from 
some charging source, the lead sulphate on the plates is removed 
and the chemical action is the reverse of what it was on dis¬ 
charge. The chemical action on charge brings the battery to its 
former condition, that is, the solution becomes sulphuric acid 
and the active material of the plates are as before. 

When a battery is charged or discharged heat is produced, and 
this heat causes evaporation of some of the water in the elec¬ 
trolyte. It is evaporation of the water of the electrolyte that is 
compensated for by the addition of distilled water to the cells. 
It is because only water is evaporated that only water should be 
added. The only time acid ever is added to the cells is when 
some of the solution has been spilled and this is rare. In this 
case the acid added should have a gravity of 1.30 and only a 
sufficient amount added to make up for that lost. 

Every week at this time of the year the owner should remove 
the small caps which are found on top of the battery. These are 
called vent caps, and when removed make it possible to look 
into the cell and see the level of the solution. The liquid should 
entirely cover the plates as illustrated in one of the sectional 
views of a battery. If the level is low, add distilled water or 
rain water. You can buy distilled water at a drug shop and the 
rain water can be collected in a vessel. The water is best added 
to the cells after the solution has been tested with a hydrometer. 
This is an instrument for indicating the specific gravity of liquids, 
or in other words, it tells how much heavier the liquid is than 
water. Water is said to have a specific gravity of 1, sulphuric 
acid has a gravity of about 1.8, and mixtures of these have cor¬ 
responding intermediate gravities. A cubic inch of battery elec- 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


75 


trolyte. which has a gravity of 1.3 weighs 3 more than a cubic 
inch of pure water. 

The hydrometer is a large glass tube with a bulb at one end 
and a piece of rubber tubing at the other. Inside this glass tube 
is a hollow glass cylinder weighted at the bottom. The cylinder 
is graduated. When heavy liquid is drawn into the large tube, 
by squeezing and releasing the bulb, the small graduated cylinder 
floats. When it comes to rest, the graduation on a level with the 
solution indicates the specific gravity of that solution. The 
gravity of any cell should be 1.28 to 1.30. If the gravity is less 
than 1.28, let us say, 1.15, the cell is discharged. If it shows 1.20, 
it is only half charged. This is easy to see, since the nearer the 
gravity apnroaches 1.3, the more nearly the battery is fully 
charged. If the gravity reading is 1.2, it is clear that the solu¬ 
tion tested is only 2 heavier than pure water, but the solution 
must be 28 to .3 heavier when the battery is fully charged. A 
slight variation of say .1, between the gravity of the cells of a 
battery is permissible. 

After the cells have been tested they should be brought to level 
with distilled water. Assuming, however, that one cell showed a 
much lower level than one of the others, it might be inferred that 
that cell has a leaky jar, or perhaps some of the solution has 
been spilled. Spilling of electrolyte calls for the addition of elec¬ 
trolyte of a gravity of 1.30. If the owner is not familiar with 
the oneration of filling to compensate for spillage of electrolyte, 
it had best be done by the service station. In a general way a 
gravity of 1.30 will be obtained at 70 degrees F. bv mixing.twen¬ 
ty-five parts of water by volume with ten parts of sulohuric acid 
of a gravity of 1.83. In mixing, the acid should be added to the 
water and after the solution has cooled, it should be placed into 
the cell until the oroper level is reached. 

The addition of too much water may cause the excess to be 
forced out through the caps and this excess will corrode the bat¬ 
tery case. Fill only to the level indicated which is slightly above 
the tops of the plates. 

If after testing the cells for gravity it is found that the read¬ 
ings are below those specified, it naturally remains to charge the 
battery until the gravity of all cells is correct. The only way the 
gravity can be restored is bv charging, and it is wrong to attempt 
to increase the gravity by the addition of any substance. If acid 
is added to bring up the gravity the separators and plates of the 
cell will be permanently injured, the active material will fall out 
of the grids, and little useful work will be had from that cell. It 
will be found in most cases of “high acid” that the active ma¬ 
terial is so soft that the least vibration causes it to fall to the 

bottom of the jar. . 

Quite often the owner finds that the solution level has dropped 


76 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


considerably, and after filling with water the battery does not 
seem to “come up” on charge; that is, it does not appear to m- 
crease in gravity. This may be the result of a poor connection 
which does not allow the charging current to have the desired 
effect, or as is usually the case the battery has been idle in a dis¬ 
charged condition. Allowing a discharged battery to remain so 
for any length of time causes the deposit on the plates to become 
hard. This calls for a long charge at a low rate, and very often 
two or three chargings are necessary. In some cases the battery 
cannot be restored to normal condition. This shows the impor¬ 
tance of adding water weekly to completely cover the plates and 
of making the necessary gravity tests of the cell solution. In a 
previous paragraph mention was made of the owner who com¬ 
plained that his battery did not produce current “even though it 
had not been used for four months.” This owner allowed his 
battery to remain idle without any attention whatever, not know¬ 
ing that the chemical action goes on all the time. His battery 
evidently was in a run-down condition and required careful 
charging to restore it to its former condition. 

In automobiles the undercharging of batteries is quite com¬ 
mon. Some owners will make a great many starts and stops, and 
each start draws a great deal of current from the battery. The 
car is not run sufficiently long after the start to replace the cur¬ 
rent removed in starting, with the result that the battery is 
slighly undercharged. Some professional men such as doctors 
may find difficulty in keeping the battery properly charged. A 
doctor may leave his car in the street for hours with the lamps 
burning and then a half hour later make four starts and stops. 
This procedure obviously draws more current from the battery 
than can be put back into it in the short time allowed for charg¬ 
ing, resulting in an undercharged battery. However, by reducing 
the battery load and allowing the total generator output to be 
used in charging, it will soon bring the battery to normal condi¬ 
tion. 

One of the first indications of an undercharged battery, al¬ 
though this symptom may foretell another trouble, is \veak 
cranking. The starting motor turns the engine over slowly. An 
undercharged battery may not have sufficient current left in it to 
supply the needs of the starting motor. The remedy, of course, 
is to charge the battery either by means of the generator on the 
car by allowing the motor to operate and not using a battery 
load, or from an outside source. The effect of an undercharged 
battery will be had if the owner neglects to fill the cells with 
water. In this state only a portion of each plate is submerged, 
and only that portion is acted upon chemically by the remaining 
solution. The result is that the battery output is low. 

Undercharging may be the result of some derangement be- 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


77 


tween the battery and the^generator either in the connections, 
the generator, the current regulator, etc. An ammeter test at 
the generator terminals will soon tell whether or not the desired 
amperage is being delivered, and an inspection of the wiring from 
battery to generator will reveal any open or short circuits. All 
connections should be clean. The battery connections especially 
need attention, and after cleaning and drying them, a little vase¬ 
line will help materially in preventing corrosion with its harmful 
results. 

Then there is an opposite condition which seems to be 'more 
prevalent now than undercharging, and that is overcharging. 
The only function of the charging current is to produce chemical 
.action in the battery so as to restore the plates to their original 
condition by removing from them the sulphate deposited during 
discharge. If, after the plates have been restored the charging 
is continued, the current passing through the solution causes a 
breaking up of the water in it. This causes bubbling, and the 
heat produced has a bad effect on the plates, the tendency being 
to soften the active material and bend the grids. Also the over¬ 
charging causes gases to be formed in the plates themselves and 
in the effort of the gases to get out they push the active material 
out also. Those who drive their cars a great deal during the 
day start the engine only a few times and use practically no load 
because little, if any, night driving is done, may have overcharg¬ 
ing troubles. Overheating and plate disintegration may be 
caused by neglect to fill the cells with water, but in either case 
the result is the same. 

When it is known that a long run will be made, it is advisable 
to turn on the lamps to prevent overcharging. An inspection of 
the cells after a run of this kind will show whether or not the 
solution is bubbling too much. If the battery is overheated its 
temperature will be about 105 or 110 degrees, and at this tem¬ 
perature no further charging should be given. Allow the bat¬ 
tery to cool first or require it to supply a load. In many in¬ 
stances the charging current of the generator may be regulated, 
and if a long run is to be made with no appreciable battery load, 
it is advisable to reduce the charging rate to meet the new con¬ 
ditions. Systems in which the charging rate is designed to over¬ 
charge instead of undercharge should be watched carefully. 

In some districts in the North, owners find it almost impos¬ 
sible to get good battery service, because of the extreme cold 
weather which prevails during certain periods of the year. One 
fair way of lowering the freezing point of the battery is to keep 
the electrolyte at the proper gravity. The lower the gravity the 
higher the freezing point. With solution at 1.26, the battery will 
freeze at 60 degrees below zero, but at 1.16 or three-quarters dis¬ 
charged, the battery will freeze at zero, a temperature often 


78 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


reached even in the more southerly states. In the extremely cold 
sections some owners make doubly sure by covering the battery 
with fur or cloth. However, if only the solution is properly 
watched little thought should be given to freezing. 

Whenever trouble arises in the starting and lighting system, 
the first step is to examine the battery, not because it is expected 
to be the cause in most cases, but because the trouble may more 
easily be traced in this way. You know that if the battery cells 
all test 1.28 to 1.3 that the battery is in good condition, providing, 
of course, that this gravity has been obtained in the proper way 
and not by the addition of acid. With the battery in good condi¬ 
tion you can confine your search for the trouble to the wiring, the 
regulator, the generator, etc. But, should the battery be at fault, 
should the cells not test up to normal, you can correct the trouble 
without difficulty by charging the battery. If it persistently be¬ 
comes undercharged or overcharged have the lighting units ex¬ 

amined, or analyze the case and determine if you are operating 
the battery under the wrong conditions, that is, giving the accumu¬ 
lator little chance to give the proper service. 

Car storage during the winter months is done now by very few 
owners, but to those whose batteries will not be used for some 

time it is suggested that they be given the proper attention. 

There are two ways of storing a battery, and one is to give it to 
a garageman or service station with instructions to care for it 
and the other is dry storage. In the former the battery is given 
periodic charges and discharges, but in the latter a different pro¬ 
cedure is followed. 

In storing a battery under the latter scheme the battery is first 
fully charged after which it is dismantled and the separators re¬ 
moved, These separators are no longer fit for use. The plates 
are washed with water for about twenty minutes and then placed 
in a dry place to remain until again needed. Dry storage is eco¬ 
nomical and in one respect at least is better than wet storage. In 
dry storage there is no deterioration of the plates, which is the 
case in wet storage. As to cost it might be mentioned that for 
six months’ storage a 6-80 battery will cost $4.50, a 6-100 $5 and 
12-50 $6. When the owner receives the battery the plates will 
be in good condition, providing they were not injured before stor¬ 
age and new separators will be installed. 


HEADLIGHT ATTACHMENTS 

TTAVING observed and experimented somewhat with 
methods of reducing headlight glare during the past 
season, I agree with certain illuminating engineers that abso¬ 
lutely satisfactory automobile illumination without objec- 



THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


79 


tionable glare cannot be obtained with the use of the present 
type of parabolic reflector. 

Methods of controlling headlight illumination may appar¬ 
ently be roughly divided into three classes: 

1. A system having light controlled by suitable headlight 
lenses or screens so that light of high intensity is used only 
in the lower angles. Such equipment is satisfactory to the 
extent that when sufficiently powerful and controlled by suf¬ 
ficiently effective means, excellent road service illumination 
can be obtained without objectionable glare as long as the 
road surface is absolutely level and the controlling devices 
are not permitted to become displaced. 

My experience with special headlight lenses is that they 
must be carefully installed in their frames and wedged with 
adhesive tape if necessary, to prevent any displacement. But 
obviously, road irregularity and curvature will cause eleva¬ 
tion of high power beams in practice so that as far as passing 
travelers are concerned, the lights may as well not be con¬ 
trolled at all, whenever there is occasion to pass cars travel¬ 
ling in the opposite direction under such conditions. Also 
when approaching the foot of a hill, light will be concentrated 
on the foot of the ascent, thus limiting the range of illu¬ 
mination. 

Lack of light in the upper angles is unsatisfactory since on 
country roads the absence of light on trees, fences, signs, and 
railroad crossings,' and cross roads, makes it difficult to 
anticipate the direction of the road or to see a sufficient dis¬ 
tance in advance to satisfy the requirements of safety. In¬ 
creasing the upper beams will increase the glare for level 
roads. 

2. A system by which light is diffused equally in all direc¬ 
tions from the center of the headilght. The “bug” with this 
arrangement is that with most designs of lenses, objectionable 
glare is still present when the light is cut down even below 
the point of good average illumination. 

3. A system whereby the degree of dimming quantity or 
light, or both, may be controlled by the driver. 

Apparently it should be recognized that different driving 
conditions require varying degrees of headlight illumination 
and that the attempt to use one degree of illumination for 
all purposes can only be approximately satisfactory. A car 
standing by the roadside at night, needs only nominal illu¬ 
mination; for city driving, road illumination for only a short 
distance is required since there is usually plenty of general 


80 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


street lighting and speeds are comparatively slow; for night 
country driving at considerable speed on vacant roads, a 
sufficiently powerful light is required so that changes of 
direction, crossings, obstructions, and other occupants of the 
road may be distinguished sufficiently in advance for the 
driver to govern his speed accordingly, and this degree of 
light should be cut down below the objectionable point when 
passing. On such occasions speed is so decreased that long 
range illumination is unessential. 

The writer has found two sets of equipment to meet the 
above requirements in a fair degree. 

One consists of powerful nitrogen filled bulbs used in con¬ 
junction with ground glass lenses having marginal star points 
and a variable dimming rheostat. At full power these lights 
are satisfactory for country driving, but it is necessary to 
use the rheostat a considerable portion of the time and to 
dim carefully when passing. 

The other installation consists of twelve to fifteen candle- 
power bulbs and almost any form of dimming lenses which 
will obviate objectionable glare when passing without cutting 
down the general illumination unduly. These are satisfactory 
for driving on fairly well lighted streets and roads and need 
not be dimmed when passing. For country driving a good 
sized swivel spot light without dimmining lense must be 
employed, to be turned off when other occupants of the road 
come into view. This is of doubtful legality in several states. 

The regulation of motor car illumination is a somewhat 
peculiar problem since the driver does not equip his car with 
non-glare devices primarily for his own comfort but for that 
of other travelers he meets, and to satisfy the law. Since, 
with the present means of illumination and light control, all 
regulation is a compromise, satisfactory illumination being 
impossible without some glare, there is a temptation to install 
equipment which will come just within the law, and depend 
upon the discretion of the driver for its proper use. 

J. T. L., Montclair, N. J. 

The Efficacy of “Ten and—” 

Until the judge said “ten and” I never paid much attention 
to my headlights except to put in new bulbs when the old 
ones burned out. I used as large lamps as my battery would 
stand and had a fine path of light down the middle of the 
road. In town I used my dimmers when I thought of it, but 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


81 


they didn’t give me enough light to drive by where streets 
were not well lighted. 

Aft£r meeting the judge I put some frosting on the inside 
of my headlight glasses and that let me “get by” the police 
all right, but I almost had to buy a new bumper because my 
lights would not shine far enough ahead to show me a wagon 
that was loafing along the road. 

Bought a pair of lenses of the “scatter” type and they were 
a little better than the frosting, but had the same defect of 
cutting down the distance. Was lucky enough to have some 
one break one of them and so I put on another make. These 
were supposed to use all the light by putting the glare part 
down on the road and they were a great improvement on the 
frosting and light spraying device I had used before. Had 
some trouble about adjusting my lamp bulbs in the reflector 
to get the light down the road where I wanted it, but when 
it was set right I had a light I thought was petty good. Could 
see more than a block ahead and pretty near the full width 
of the road, and there was enough light along the side to 
show fences and things. Thought I was fixed all O. K. until 
I went out on a narrow concrete road that was popular. Then 
I found that the fellows who were using dimmers in town 
and big lights in the country, with clear fronts in their head¬ 
lights bothered me. The trouble was that my headlights 
did not throw enough light at the side of the road so I could 
see the edge when the other fellow’s glare hit me. I do a 
lot of night driving in the country and I would have put the 
clear glass back in my headlights, but I remembered that I 
had the same trouble when I was using the clear glass. 
Asked my friends what they were doing and although among 
the lot they had tried out most of the “57” varieties of glare 
chasers on the market, they were having about the same 
or worse experience as myself. Got along pretty well by 
staying off from the main travelled roads at night, but it 
spoiled my fun a good deal and cut down my night rides. 
Finally ran across a man who said he had the dope on night 
driving. He put a spot light on his car and shot the light 
along the edge of the road. This let him see the edge right 
through the glare from another car and he could sail right 
along. Went to a dealer to get a spot light and he showed 
me a new lens that he was using himself. He said it did just 
what a spot light would do except that the light along the 
edge covered about five times as much territory as a spot 


82 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


light would. Having “got the habit” I fell for the talk and 
put a pair on my headlights. 

The fellow who got these up knew where the light was 
wanted and put it right there. The dealer was right about 
their fixing you so that the other fellow’s light don’t bother 
you. I never realized what a strain it was to drive at night 
with a partly lighted road until I tried the new scheme for 
lighting the road so that you can drive just as you do in the 
daytime. 

I. A. Douglas, Milwaukee, Wis. 


Likes the Prismatic Lens 

A volume could easily be written on the consideration and 
experience o£ headlight attachment. Much of the pleasure 
of driving at*night as well as the safety of motorists and pe¬ 
destrians, and car injury due to roads and weather conditions 
depend upon the headlight equipment. Thus a sufficient head¬ 
light illumination is required to make visible at a reasonable 
distance, persons, road curves, narrow culverts, ditches, shrub¬ 
bery and non-illuminated vehicles. 

The headlight equipments usually supplied by car manu¬ 
facturers are capable of supplying a powerful light for the 
benefit of the driver, but at the same time, the approaching 
and passing traffic is affected by the glare so that accidents 
do occur. 

Accessory companies and illumination glassware manu¬ 
facturers have placed on the market over two thousand 
methods, each of which acts partially in overcoming the de¬ 
fects of ordinary headlight action. These devices embody 
the following theories or designs: Use of dimmers, tilted 
headlights, auxiliary globes; parabolic reflectors with devices 
placed in the path of reflected light; parabolic reflectors with 
devices placed between the light source and the reflector; 
specially treated bulbs and bulb filaments; specially designed 
reflectors and change in the color of light. Each of these 
devices accomplishes a definite purpose by innumerable mod¬ 
ifications such as diffusing lenses, deflecting lenses, opaque 
lenses and screens, straight lenses, prismatic, blinds, bulb 
canopies, metal shields, bulb filament arrangements, ellipsoid 
linings, double foci, slant axis, etc. The specialized effort 
of each is to overcome what is known as glare, which may 
be described as the effect produced by light which falls upon 
the eye in such a manner that vision is impaired and sensi- 


THE STARTING AND LIGHTING SYSTEMS 


83 


bility temporarily reduced; and also meet other ideal require¬ 
ments as nearly as practicable. 

In my opinion each and every device that has come under 
my observation (and there have been many) has failed to be 
wholly efficient when state automobile laws, drivers’ require¬ 
ments, pedestrains’ rights and other motorists are considered. 
We therefore must take the compromise whereby we are able 
to concentrate the light into a beam which shall not rise 
higher than forty-two inches above the ground and which 
shall illuminate objects two hundred feet ahead of the car 
and also produce a lateral light capable of making objects 
on the sides of the road visible. At present this style of at¬ 
tachment presents very little light above the car to reveal 
overhead obstructions or make road directional signs read¬ 
able. 

Relative to the maintenance and proper condition of these 
devices, the best efficiency is obtained from concentrated 
filament lamps and the ability of the driver to adjust the 
position of the filament in its proper focal plane, as a crooked 
filament stem or crooked base on the lamp will place the 
filament to one side and seriously distort the beam. Clean¬ 
liness of reflectors and glassware is essential. 

Headlights with short focal lengths require very accurate 
placing of the filament and many light directing devices 
used with this style of head lamp complicate the focal ad¬ 
justment. 

A couple of popular misconceptions have arisen, viz.: That 
optical devices, lenses, reflectors and refractors increase light. 
These attachments merely distribute the light flux over a 
smaller area thereby increasing the beam candlepower. The 
colored light does not produce less glare except that trace¬ 
able to the lesser intensity of the light due to the absorption 
of the colored glass. Colored glass does reduce the back 
glare through fog or dust. 

The prismatic type of lens is the headlight attachment 
that offers the most practical of the ideal requisites of all 
concerned. 


E. M. Jackson, Denver, Col. 


CHAPTER V 


“ A 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


CLEANING THE RADIATOR 


T HE safest and most efficient method of removing scale from 
a radiator is to soften the scale with a chemical which will 
act upon the deposit and have little or no effect on the metal of 
the apparatus. A compound that possesses this property to a 
remarkable degree is tri-sodium phosphate. 

A solution of this chemical is made in water in the proportion 
of one pound to one gallon of water. This is added to the 
water in the radiator, four to six ounces at a time, with the 
engine running to keep the water in circulation. Continue to 
add the solution at intervals of a few minutes until an excess 
is present, viz., until a little water drawn from the radiator and 
allowed to settle, or still better, filtered, shows no further sedi¬ 
ment when a few drops of the phosphate solution is added. 

When the neutral point has been reached, add a half pint of 
the solution in excess and operate the machine for a few hours. 
Then empty the water from the radiator and thoroughly flush 
out. Repeat this treatment, and afterwards always add a small 
amount of tri-sodium phosphate solution to the water when 
replenishing the radiator. If much water is lost from steam¬ 
ing flush out radiator about every 1,000 miles which will prob¬ 
ably cure the trouble. 

The amount to use, for waters of different localities, will 
vary, but can be estimated roughly as outlined above. The doc¬ 
trine of prevention is the most satisfactory in treating of rad' 
iator troubles. Ordinarily, scale is composed largely of com¬ 
pounds of lime, magnesia and iron. When the water is fresh 
these minerals are held in solution by the carbonic acid gas 
which is always present in our natural waters, and gives them 
their so-called “life.” Under the action of heat from the en¬ 
gine, this gas is quickly driven off and the minerals which it 
had held in solution become solids and settle onto the metal 
of the radiator, forming a hard crust or scale in a short time. 
The action of tri-sodium phosphate is to change the nature 
of these scale-forming minerals, transforming them into light, 
flocculent solids which do not stick to the metal of the radiator 
and harden. 


84 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


85 


.Whenever possible, it is best to separate these scale-forming 
minerals from the water before using it in the radiator. This 
can be done in a tight barrel by stirring in the phosphate solu¬ 
tion, allowing to settle, and using the clear water. 

F. L. Arnold, North Woburn, Mass. 

Small Doses of Lye 

Dissolve as much concentrated lye as a quart of water will 
hold, drain a little water out of the radiator. Start the motor 
and let it run for ten. or fifteen minutes. Drain off and fill radi¬ 
ator a half a dozen times, or until all traces of the lye are gone. 

Fred H. Butcher, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

A Vinegar and Water Solution 

Disconnect both the inlet and outlet and plug them with 
corks. Make a mixture of about half and half ordinary table 
vinegar and soft water and fill the radiator with it. Let it 
stand for about twenty minutes. Connect one end of the garden 
hose with the hydrant and the other with the inlet tube of 
the radiator. Turn on the water and let it run through the 
radiator for about an hour. If at the end of this time the 
desired result has not been accomplished, repeat the vinegar 
and water treatment, and flush the radiator with water again. 
The flushing should always be thorough, as any vinegar re¬ 
maining in the tubes will work injury in the course of time. 
It is safer to repeat the operation than to use too strong a 
solution or to leave it in too long. If one has access to a steam 
boiler, a helpful additional treatment is to connect the hose 
with a steam cock and let the steam be forced through the 
radiator for some time. G. W. Browder, Franklin, Ky. 

The Acid Treatment 

First plug the bottom outlet of the radiator, then pour in a 
20 per cent, solution of hydrochloric acid, allowing it to stay 
for four or five minutes. The radiator should be thoroughly 
flushed and polished after this treatment. 

In my six years’ experience I have learned that a badly 
crusted radiator is usually a hopeless proposition. But when 
kerosene and all other plans have failed, I have found that the 
method explained above will give good results. 

Harry S. Weidenheimer, Allentown, Pa. 

Use of Caustic Soda Solution 

Caustic soda has long been known as a substance which 
prevents the formation of scale through forming a granular 
and easily removable sediment instead of a dense plating on 
the inside of pipes and radiators. It has also been found that 


86 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


this same substance will remove scale already formed. It is not 
exactly clear why this action takes place, since neither car¬ 
bonate of lime nor sulphate of lime—the chief constituents of 
boiler scale—appears to be dissolved in caustic soda. Never¬ 
theless, its action is very effective, and especially when the 
strength of the solution of caustic soda lies between 15 and 22 
per cent. 

The whole of the water in the cooling system must be 
drained and measured, taking care that no water is left, 
which would have the effect of diluting the solution. The so¬ 
lution must be made by dissolving 2^4 pounds of solid caustic 
soda for each gallon of solution. If five gallons is the capacity 
of the whole system, it will clearly be necessary to dissolve 
i2 l / 2 pounds of the soda. Considerable heat is generated when 
the soda is dissolved, and much stirring is necessary unless the 
soda is hung in an iron basket just under cne surface of the 
liquid. When it has cooled, the solution may be poured into 
the system until it is entirely filled up. Allow it to remain 
over night, and draw it off early in the morning. It must be 
borne in mind that caustic soda will corrode aluminum or zinc, 
and must not be used if the system should have, for instance, 
an aluminum pump cover. It also acts to some extent upon 
rubber and brass, but it is not likely to seriously damage such 
fittings in one night. After running out the solution, a hose 
and water supply should be connected to the system and a 
good stream of water driven through at fair pressure for some 
time—say, five minutes. The solution of the caustic soda may 
be carried out in an iron bucket. 

W. B. Gibson, East Orange, N. J. 

Kerosene and Compressed Air 

First, disconnect the pipes leading to and from the engine 
and drain off all the water from the radiator. Then fill the 
tank and radiator with kerosene and let it stand for at least 
two hours, being sure that all of the water is first drained off. 

After this take a piece of hose and connect to top-pipe of 
the tank with the cut-out valve in the exhaust pipe (com¬ 
pressed air is the best, if you have it) ; then start the engine, 
running it slowly. Let the exhaust blow the kerosene out 

through the bottom pipe into a tub or bucket, then stop the 

engine, fill the tank with kerosene and again blow it out, and 

see how much scale is in the bottom of the bucket. 

After the kerosene has been blown out, fill the tank with 
water and blow it out, so as to rinse the radiator. You now 
connect the pipes with the engine and it is ready for work. 

Lowell V. Irving, Nevada City, Cal. 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


87 


MENDING THE CRACKED WATER JACKET 

fF the fracture is readily accessible, the removal of the engine 
-*■ from the chassis is unnecessary. Remove with gasoline all 
oil, etc., from the fracture and surrounding metal. Plug the 
water-jacket inlet and to the water outlet attach the end of the 
rubber suction pipe of an ordinary hand vacuum cleaner. Get 
some iron cement at a supply store. Run your engine until the 
crack and surrounding metal is pretty well heated and then, with 
a common table knife in one hand, apply iron cement paste to 
the crack, a little at a time, while the other hand operates the 
handle of the vacuum cleaner, which sucks the cement into the 
crack. This suction can be easily regulated to suit the width of 
the fracture; and as the fine part of the fracture requires more 
suction force to fill it, this part should be treated first, letting 
up on the suction as the fracture widens. Apply the cement 
paste a little at a time, until the fracture is completely filled. 

The filling process cannot be done with the aid of the knife 
alone, especially if the fracture is fine. A hand vacuum cleaner 
can be rented a whole day for a dollar. 

After the cement is in, disconnect the vacuum cleaner from 
the engine and spread a layer of the cement over and around 
the fracture, smoothing it down flush to conform to the general 
contour of the water-jacket. 

Run the engine at intervals, as heat hastens the hardening 
of the cement, which becomes about the same color as the cast¬ 
ing itself. 

If, in the first place, it is found that the fracture to be 
treated is not accessible, remove the injured member from the 
chassis and proceed as directed above, except that the pre¬ 
liminary heating of the fracture and surrounding metal will 
have to be done with a blow-torch. Heat to a temperature of 
about 300 degrees. A lower heat than this is better for drying 
the cement after it is in, such as the heat from a furnace 
register or steam pipes. 

After the cement has become perfectly hard, run a stream 
of water from the faucet through the water-jacket as a test 
before returning the repaired member to the car. 

I have successfully used the above method on one of the 
badly cracked water-jackets of my runabout, which since has 
been run about six months. The repair is still tight. 

George F. White, Bridgewater, Mass. 

The Rusting Method 

To prevent the crack from extending further, a ^-inch taper¬ 
ing hole should be drilled a little beyond each end of the crack 


88 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


and then taped. By drilling a little beyond the damaged por¬ 
tion one is certain to include all the crack, some of Which 
might not be visible to the naked eye. T hen a screw should be 
inserted, screwed down, and the end filed off flush with. the 
surface of the jacket. Overlapping the crack $/& to % of an inch 
all around, a piece of sheet copper not less than one-twelfth of 
an inch thick should be fitted and fastened down with a num¬ 
ber of three-sixteenths or one-quarter-inch screws. A piece 
of canvas coated with red lead, putty or thick paint should be 
placed under the copper. The patch may leak a little at first, 
but after standing a short time will “set,” making a sure and 
permanent repair. 

If, however, this leak is in the water space around the valves 
where the patch cannot be applied, it can only be repaired by 
“rusting” the metal with a very strong solution of sal-ammoniac. 
The rust will fill the crack and stop the leaking. Holes should 
be drilled and tapped at each end of the crack, just as if it 
were to be patched. 

Walter M. Stacy, Glenavon, Ill. 

A White-Lead Patch 

Cut a sheet of iron plate so that it will cover the crack and 
extend about an inch on both sides and at the ends. Hammer 
this so that it follows the shape of the cylinder and fits closely. 
Next, drill a row of small holes around the edge of this plate 
about one and a half inches apart, and then place the plate 
over the crack and mark the cylinder for corresponding holes. 
Drill those a size smaller than those in the plate and thread 
them with a tap. Now, take a cold chisel and cut out the 
crack, making it V-shaped its entire length, but taking pains 
not to widen it any at its inner surface. Fill this V-shaped 
groove with white-lead paste; over this put some asbestos 
wicking which has been soaked in white lead, having it lap 
a little at the sides and ends of the groove. Then cut a sheet 
of asbestos the size of the plate inside of the holes drilled 
around the edge; soak this also in white lead, place it over 
the wicking and then fasten the plate tightly down upon all 
by means of screws to fit the threaded holes. 

If the cylinder is painted or covered with oil, it should be 
cleaned before patching. After the work has been finished 
the patch can be smoothed down with a file and painted to add 
to its appearance. 

It is best to let the engine stand for a few days before using 
to let the lead set. 

Rodney E. Prather. Academy, S. D. 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


89 


Two Kinds of Cement 

An engine cylinder need not be thrown away because the 
water-jacket is cracked, if the crack is not too large. 

There are preparations now on the market which, when 
properly applied and allowed to dry thoroughly, make a very 
neat and effective repair and will last for several months. 
The best method, however, is by welding. One preparation is a 
black-looking powder to be mixed with water, and should be 
made into a thick paste and applied with a thin, flat piece of 

metal like a putty knife. After it has dried it may be covered 

with a coat of paint to hide the dull effect. 

Another such preparation can be made from litharge (which 
is a yellow powder), glycerine and ground graphite. This 
should be applied the same as the prepared powder and al¬ 
lowed a longer time to dry and harden. 

Another way to make a neat repair is to drill and tap four 

small holes in the cylinder and by means of small machine 

screws attach a copper plate and a piece of sheet packing, of 
most any kind, over the crack. This may be used in connec¬ 
tion with the other methods if desired. 

F. R. Shepherd, Midland, Cal. 

Calking with Copper 

The best way to repair a cracked water-jacket is to use the 
Oxy-acetylene welding process. Where this is properly done, your 
trouble is forever ended. Where this is not possible, I would 
sew the crack up with copper and calk the seam, the same as 
a boilermaker does in calking a boiler. 

This is done by drilling holes, just large enough to cut away 
all edges of the crack and tapping them out to take a copper 
rod that has been threaded to go in them. 

I would commence at one end of the crack and bore one hole, 
tap it out and screw my copper in, just far enough to go 
through the jacket. Then cut off the copper and start the next 
hole close enough to allow the drill to barely touch the copper 
stud that has just been screwed in. When this hole is tapped 
out and your copper screwed in, your seam will be solid copper. 

Continue in this manner until the crack has been filled. Be 
sure you bore all the crack away at each end, then use a ball 
and piece hammer, or calking tool, to swell and spread the 
copper. 

After this is done use a coarse file to dress the seam off and 
you have a job that is both neat and durable. 

Glenn Newsome, Live Oak, Fla. 


90 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Autogenous Welding 

Autogenous welding, when properly done, as any process 
would have to be to be used at all, will leave the cylinder as 
good as new, and the more responsible firms doing this work 
will guarantee it. In repairing a water-jacket by this “best 
method” the cylinder is first stripped of all its attachments, 
such as spark plugs, valves, pet cocks, studs, etc. The studs 
should be removed, as the heating process which the cylinders 
go through sets the studs in such a way that it makes it a 
hard matter to remove them at any time in the future. The 
other parts are removed simply to save them from being 
spoiled by the heat. 

The jacket is now chiseled out with a round-nosed chisel, 
making a kind of V-shaped groove where the crack was. This 
groove should be just about as deep as the thickness of the 
metal, a little less rather than to leave the bottom open. The 
cylinder is now put in a charcoal oven and heated slowly until 
it has reached a low red heat. It is then taken from the oven 
and the actual welding begins. This preheating is done in 
order to prevent shrinkage cracks after the welding. The weld¬ 
ing is done by means of acetylene and oxygen gases burning 
together in an especially designed torch. The operator applies 
his flame to one end of the groove, and when both sides are 
almost to a point of fusion he brings into the flame a cast-iron 
rod of good quality and it fuses and forms a homogeneous mass 
with the metal in the cylinder. The flame is gradually moved 
along and the extra cast iron supplied until the groove is com¬ 
pletely filled up. The cylinder is now put in an oven, where it 
will cool slowly, so that the shrinkage will not be uneven when 
it is cool. The weld is smoothed off with an emery wheel and 
the parts reassembled. The cylinder is now painted and is 
ready to go back in the car, as good as new. 

D. B. Stouffer, Council Bluffs, la. 


How to Apply a Clamp 

It sometimes happens that the motorist with a cracked 
water-jacket in his motor is unable to find a welding shop near 
by and is then obliged to find some temporary means of re¬ 
pairing the injured member. This may be accomplished in a 
fairly satisfactory manner by the use of a good steel band, wide 
enough to cover the crack well, and long enough to encircle the 
water-jacket. In each end of this steel band a one-half-inch 
hole is bored and the ends of the encircling band turned up at 
right angles. Now the band must be carefully placed so as to 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


91 


cover completely the place to be repaired, and made to conform 
to the shape of the cylinder walls; then a bolt is inserted 
through the two holes, the lock nut put on and screwed up as 
tightly as possible. Owing to the terrific strain to which the 
steel "angles” are subjected, it is sometimes necessary to have 
the band long enough to overlap several inches and to curve 
the ends back and weld them to the body of the steel band. It 
is, of course, recognized that this method can only be used to 
an advantage on motors, the cylinders of which are cast singly 
or in pairs, and on these when the crack in the jacket is lo 
cated on the side of the cylinder walls. 

Justin D. Dosbrandt, Upland, Texas. 


1 


CHAPTER VI 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


WHEN THE OILING SYSTEM FAILS 

T OO much oil cuts down a motor’s efficiency as much 
as anything short of total failure in cooling, lubrication, 
ignition or carburetion. When the cylinders are flooded 
with oil, the motor is sluggish and chokes up and carbon 
is formed very rapidly. 

On one car of 1912 model, a vacuum system of lubrication 
was provided. For level runs, this system worked wonder¬ 
fully well, but on long hills both up and down, the flow of 
oil was in such excess as to impair greatly the efficiency of 
the motor as well as to make much smoke and carbon. 

The oil was carried in a reservoir on the side of the crank¬ 
case and fed into the sump through small holes at the bot¬ 
tom of the reservoir. The flow was regulated by the amount 
of lubricant in the crankcase, for the oil could pass out of 
the reservoir only when air was admitted to it through the 
holes in the crankcase, and of course this occurred only 
where the level in the sump was down to the holes into the 
reservoir. On hills the oil in the crankcase would run to 
the low end, thus exposing the flow hole on the high end 
and allowing too much oil to pass through. 

To remedy this trouble a brass cylinder, sealed at both 
ends, having a capacity of about three pints, was attached 
to the under side of the crankcase running lengthwise 
the car. This tank was tapped and %-mch pipes were run 
to it from the drain cocks placed on the bottom of the crank¬ 
case, the pipe from one drain cock running to the opposite 
end of the tank in order to avoid a reverse flow on steep 
hills. On the inside of the drain cocks short standpipes 
were attached to keep the oil at the proper level in the 
crankcase. Another pipe was run from the bottom of the 
overflow tank through a hole in the drip pan to the out¬ 
side and fitted with a stop cock and an elbow pointed down. 
Thus it was a simple matter to set a receptacle under the 


92 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


93 


elbow and open the valve, draining out the overflow tank 
when necessary. A breather pipe was run up alongside the 
engine from the top of the overflow tank. 

After some little adjusting to get the standpipes at the 
proper point to regulate the oil level, this attachment put 
an end to all the vexations of a flooded motor and at the 
same time increased the mileage per gallon of lubricant from 
75 to 200. 

C. B. T., Paeonian Springs, Va. 

Adjustment That Ended Trouble 

Oiling the gasoline motor to-day is more of a problem 
than it was a few years ago, in spite of many improvements 
in design. This is due to the fact that the gasoline of the 
present is less volatile than formerly and consequently re¬ 
quires better carburetion and the application of heat to 
obtain anything resembling a dry, well vaporized mixture. 
Of course, more trouble is experienced from this cause in 
cold weather than in warm. 

Last Spring I had considerable trouble with the motor 
smoking, even when the level of the oil in the crankcase was 
kept low. I blamed it on the oil, which was a well-known 
product, and drew it from the crankcase. It appeared very 
thin and watery, so I sent a sample to the makers who re¬ 
ported that it contained gasoline which had probably passed 
the piston rings on account of running with a rich mixture. 
Of course, the oil being so thinned worked more freely 
past the rings, causing the motor to smoke. I then adjusted 
the carburetor to a weaker mixture, put on a hot-air stove 
and pipe and found that this helped so far as the thinning of 
the oil was concerned. 

However, this did not stop the smoking, which I might 
state had always been a fault of the motor, so when it was 
taken down for overhauling, I had new piston rings of the 
leak-proof type installed. This improved the compression 
but did not stop the smoking, so it was decided . 
the crankcase and give the oiling mechanism a careful in¬ 
spection. The oiling system is of the force feed and splash 
type, with pump contained in oil well. The pump was found 
to be in good order and all the oil pipes clear, so that oil 
circulated freely, but it was discovered by operating the 
pump that streams of oil were forced upward at an angle 
that would carry them directly into the cylinders instead 
of down into the oil troughs as the makers of the car had 
told me they should. 


94 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


As the oil pipe was cast in the wall of the crankcase and 
the holes drilled into it opposite each oil trough, there was 
no way to make the oil flow down into the trough except 
by drilling new holes and plugging the old or by inserting 
bent tubes in the holes alredy there. It was easier to bend 
short lengths of I^-inch tube, thread and screw them into 
the old holes than it was to drill new holes. This was done, 
the tubes being bent so that the streams of oil would flow 
into the troughs instead of up into the cylinders as before. 
After assembling with these changes, it was possible to run 
the motor with very little smoke unless too large a quantity 
was put into the crankcase. 

Since making these changes, in several hundred miles of 
running, the motor has been just as well lubricated, has 
smoked less and has not used so much oil, thereby decreas¬ 
ing the amount of carbon in the cylinders. 

A. L. M., Brooklyn, N. Y. * 

Care That the Oiling System Needs 

There are, in general, two kinds of oiling systems used bn 
all types of motors. First, and most common, the splash 
system where oil is pumped from the lower part of the crank¬ 
case to a false bottom in which the connecting rods dip 
at every revolution. 

The second, and less common type, is the forced feed 
where the oil is pumped into and through crankshaft, or into 
the main bearings and sides of the cylinders. 

In either of these systems a reciprocating plunger pump 
or a so-called gear pump is used to move the oil from one 
point 'to another. In both cases it is customary to use the 
oil over and over and in doing this the oil will ultimately 
contain more or less foreign matter. This foreign matter 
is largely carbon and if the crankcase is not periodically 
drained and the motor rinsed with gasoline or kerosene 
this foreign matter will tend to clog the small oil pipes or 
the pump. 

The gear driven pump will cause very little trouble due 
to clogging, but since any pump must be provided with a 
strainer on its suction, the strainer may become clogged, 
causing lack of oil to be supplied. 

In general, there are two things which may be expected— 
clogged oil pipes or a clogged pump, due to carbon in the 
oil. Any oiling system worth while is provided with an 
oil gauge, which will indicate whether or not the system is in 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


95 


operation. If the gauge does not indicate well in the middle 
of the scale, when the car is in operation, the first thing to 
do is to throw out the clutch, speeding the motor to see 
whether it has any effect on the gauge. Often the indicator 
on the gauge will hang in the corner, but a little over-speed¬ 
ing of the motor will throw it up. If, however, the indi¬ 
cator remains at zero an investigation should be made, 
first, to see if there is any oil in the crankcase, and second, to 
see if the supply pipes are clogged at any point. You will 
find several places where you can disconnect the pipes and 
then by running the motor ascertain whether or not the 
pump is in proper working order. 

It is usually said that a motor that is receiving an insufficient 
amount of oil will run hot. If a driver does not notice that 
his oil gauge is failing to indicate, it is doubtful whether he 
would notice that the motor was getting hot, and it is very 
likely that the first thing a driver of this kind would know 
would be that his motor had stopped and would not run 
any more. In such a case he would probably find that one 
or two, if not all, of the bearings in the motor were burned 
out. Practically the only reliable information to be ob¬ 
tained on your oiling system is from the oil gauge. It is 
well, however, to periodically clean the system. Discon¬ 
nect the pipes at one or more points and pump the dirty oil 
from the pump and pipes, then pump through sufficient kero¬ 
sene to thoroughly cleanse the system; in other words, it 
is a whole lot better to anticipate trouble than to be look¬ 
ing for symptoms. 

In the case of a splash system if at any time the pump 
fails to work on the road, and it is impossible to repair it, 
the car can be operated safely by putting in an excess amount 
of oil. Simply put in enough oil so that the level is raised 
to the oil pan in which the connecting rods dip. This may 
cause the motor to smoke, but it will make it safe to operate 
until you can drive to a service station. 

Louis R. Lee, Columbus, 0. 

Troubles of All Varieties 

Roughly speaking all motor car oiling troubles can be 
divided into three general classes—not enough oil—too much 
oil—or the wrong kind of oil. 

To deai with the last item first, I have found that the best 
way to make sure of using the right grade of oil is to use 
religiously the oil recommended by the makers of the par- 


96 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


ticular car you drive. It takes a lot of experimenting for an 
owner to discover which of half a dozen or a dozen different 
grades of oil is best suited for his car, and as the makers of the 
car have already done all this experimenting and on a far 
greater scale than the individual owner can attempt, it is 
only reasonable to take their word for it when they say 
that such and such an oil is best for their cars. 

When the motor is not getting enough oil it is usually be¬ 
cause the oil supply has been allowed to run low or there is 
something wrong with the circulating system—either the 
pump is not forcing enough oil to the bearings or the pipes 
are plugged or the connections are loose or the strainer is 
obstructed with dirt. A shortage of oil due to any cause 
will be indicated by failure of the oil gauge or indicator on 
the instrument board to operate properly, but aside from 
this the trouble is also indicated sooner or later by overheat¬ 
ing of the motor, looseness of the bearings, and possibly by 
slight squeaks if the bearings, pistons and rings are closely 
fitted. 

Whenever a shortage of oil is indicated it should be in¬ 
vestigated at once; make sure first of all that there is enough 
oil in the crankcase or reservoir; next look to the oil pipe 
connections to make sure they are not leaking; if the con¬ 
nections are tight, clean out the oil strainer; and if the 
trouble persists, disconnect all oil pipes and run wires through 
them or blow them out with compressed air to make sure 
they are clear or if this cannot be done, drain out the old oil, 
flush out the crankcase with kerosene and then refill with 
fresh oil. As a last resort the adjustment of the oil pump 
may be altered to make it pump more oil if all indications 
show that the pump was improperly adjusted. 

A surplus of oil can only be caused in the majority of 
cars by improper adjustment of the oil pump so that it 
pumps too much oil. This trouble is usually indicated by 
blue smoke issuing from the exhaust and by frequent foul¬ 
ing of spark plugs, rapid formation of carbon, etc. The same 
symptoms may be shown in case the pistons are worn or 
the cylinders scored, allowing oil to work up into the com¬ 
bustion chambers; or you may be using too light a grade of 
oil. If you are using the proper grade of oil and are sure 
that the pistons are properly fitted and the cylinder walls 
smooth and true, then it is in order to cut down the oil 
pump feed slightly. 


“Wolverine/' Detroit, Mich. 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


97 


Present and Past 

The motor lubrication problems of the present-day driver 
appear trivial to the veterans of 1906 and earlier. 

My two-cylinder buggy “car” and my one-cylinder Rambler 
had splash systems supplied by that acme of simplicity, a 
drip-oiler set to feed so many drops per minute. As they 
required opening and closing, mental lapses meant burned 
bearings or smoke. 

The next, a 1909 Ford, used the present model T system 
but consumed three gallons of oil every 100 miles despite 
all efforts. Cleaned plugs every fifty miles; motor every 500. 

A 1910 Kissel used a “precision” oiler to force oil through 
several leads. Better, but noisy. Also, copper tubes are 
fragile. 

A Hupp twenty used splash, as did all preceding, but at¬ 
tempted improvement—the throttle controlled the rapidity 
of drip feed to the crankcase. 

A Hupp thirty-tow used a force-feed, supplied, somewhat 
similarly to the Ford, by centrifugal force of the fly-whee,J 
revolving in the oil. Being in unit, the motor and gear case 
were supplied by the same body of oil—a commendable 
advance toward simplicity. 

A Dodge, at present in use, uses a pump force fed with 
gauge on dash. Somewhat unsatisfactory for winter, though, 
because of exposed copper oil pipes. 

In my experience, the quality of the oil and the condition 
of the engine, as well as the manner of its use, have greater 
influence on lubricating results than does the type of system 
employed. A low speed motor can use the splash, but a 
high speed motor must have forced feed. 

Of the various systems—splash, force feed, and the com¬ 
binations of these—every one has its merits and limitations. 
To secure sufficient and yet not excessive lubrication ap¬ 
pears to be difficult, even in new motors. New motors, close 
fitting, should have a limited amount of light oil; a worn 
motor, quantities of heavy oil. Succinctly, a motor should 
be fed as light an oil and in as limited an amount as will lu¬ 
bricate. But err on the safe side. 

The system, whatever its type, should have an accessible 
gauge to measure flow, total quantity, and its lubricating 
value—since oil deteriorates. Most oiling troubles result 
from neglect of the drivers. 

The ultimate car will supply every moving part with lu¬ 
bricant from one common reservoir. Allah speed that dayl 


98 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


The symptoms of under-lubrication should easily be recog¬ 
nizable." A malodorous, hot, sluggish motor that may even 
clank or stop. Over-lubrication, the lesser evil, gives a. 
smoky exhaust, plugs frequently fouling and an engine that 
quickly fills with carbon and knocks from pre-ignition. 

To remedy, locate the diseased portion—then operate. 

E. W. Gardner, Webster, Iowa. 

As to Ford Oiling 

The splash system of lubrication as is provided in a Ford 
motor is usually reliable where the oil level in the reser¬ 
voir is kept at the requisite height, which is midway between 
the two testing jpet cocks, and the lubricant is of the proper 
consistency, a light grade for winter use and medium for 
summer. 

Some mechanical constructional differences, however, such 
as variations in the metal stampings, which constitute the 
crankcase, cause the connecting rod ends and the flywheel 
to extend deeper into the oil level, with the result that the 
revolving parts splash the oil more vigorously than is 
desired. The excess oil finds it way past the pistons, into the 
combustion chambers, causing an unusaul amount of carbon 
deposit and considerable fouling of the spark plugs. 

Where a difficulty of this kind is experienced, a remedy 
which is oftentimes effective, is to remove the lower crank¬ 
case cover, which contains the oil troughs and place an ad¬ 
ditional felt gasket around the outer edge of the plate. This 
places the cover about one-sixteenth of an inch lower, caus¬ 
ing the connecting rod ends to dip less oil. 

Usually this procedure overcomes the trouble which ex¬ 
cess oil in the cylinder causes, but by using an additional 
belt gasket between the crankcase and the cylinder casting, 
when reassembling the Ford motor after overhauling, 'the 
oil sump and troughs are lowered a corresponding amount 
and though this distance that the oil level is lowered is 
slight, it is usually enough to prevent the motor from smok¬ 
ing, a fault which is common to engines that have been run 
for some time and the pistons fit somewhat loosely in the 
cylinders. 

The tube which conveys the oil from the rim of the fly¬ 
wheel to the forward end of the crankcase, is a thin metal 
pipe which oftentimes is damaged by being bent or pushed 
out of place, when work is being done on the motor. 

This feed tube should be examined previous to reassem- 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


99 


bling to see that the flow of oil through it will not be ob¬ 
structed when the motor is started. 

Dirt and carbon particles sometimes clog the tube, ob¬ 
structing the flow of oil. An overheated engine, a scored 
cylinder or a burned out bearing may result from this con¬ 
dition. 

In the pocket which surrounds the valve springs and is 
covered by a metal plate, an accumulation of oil will re¬ 
sult after the valve tappets have worn slightly in their 
guides. 

By drilling one or two holes through the cylinder casting 
this oil will drain back into the crankcase rather than out 
at the edges of the valve covers, causing a disagreeable con¬ 
dition. 

The splash system of this motor is suited admirably to 
the use of small quantities of pulverized graphite about one 
teaspoonful to the gallon of oil, giving good results. 

The transmission with its numerous small gears is bene- 
fitted by the use of graphite for the particles of this sub¬ 
stance are heat resisting with high bearing qualities and 
give better lubrication to the gear teeth than the light oil 
which is made thinner by the heat of the motor when it is 
running. 


G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER VII 

COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 

CARBON—ITS REMOVAL 

TT is fortunate for the car owner that the removal of carbon 
deposits of whatever quantity and hardness is a simple job, 
quickly done. The methods of doing the work vary, sometimes 
depending on the type of engine and the extent of the deposit; 
sometimes on the particular success an owner has had with a 
certain method. Carbon may be removed by four principal 
methods, as follows: By the oxygen method; by hand scraping ; 
by the use of a proprietary compound; by the use of a chain. 

The oxygen method is the only one which the car owner 
rarely performs himself, because it requires a tank of oxygen 
gas. Because of this the owner is obliged to have this performed 
at some carbon removing station or garage where equipment of 
this kind is used. The work of removing carbon by means of 
oxygen consists of removing a spark plug of the cylinder to be 
treated, dropping a lighted match into the cylinder and then 
feeding oxygen into the cylinder until all the carbon has been 
consumed. This process relies for its efficiency on the fact that 
the moment oxygen comes in contact with a body oxidation 
tends to take place, and in the case of incandescent bodies oxi¬ 
dation or burning is very rapid. A piece of red-hot iron or 
steel placed in a confined space filled with oxygen would burn 
up like a piece of wood. The lighted match in the presence of 
oxygen starts one small carbon particle burning, then another, 
and so on until the whole mass is burned up, leaving the metal 
parts clean. Of course, the nozzle feeding the oxygen is moved 
around so that all parts of the interior of the cylinder get a 
good supply. There are certain points which must be observed 
in using this method. All extra spark plugs must be removed 
to protect the points, but there must not be an opening through 
which too much air can pass into the cylinder. This dilutes the 
oxygen stream. Also, where aluminum pistons are used great 
care must be taken, otherwise the aluminum will start burning. 
The use of the oxygen method is advised only for engines with¬ 
out detachable cylinder heads, and when the owner is in a hurry 
for his car. The process is, of course, quick and cheap (costing 
about fifty cents per cylinder), but very often, especially if an 
inexperienced man does the work, there are symptoms of carbon 
troubles after the carbon supposedly has been removed. 


c 

c 


100 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


101 


The fact that so many of our engines now are fitted with de¬ 
tachable cylinder heads which are quickly and easily removed 
and replaced makes the oxygen system suitable for comparatively 
few engines. The detachable head makes it possible to scrape 
the piston tops and cylinder head with hand scrapers or putty 
knife and the operator may see the work. It is by far the ideal 
and only positive method of removing carbon. All the owner 
has to know to do this is how to remove and attach the cylinder 
head. The owner need not be told how to operate the scrapers 
once he sees them. It is advisable after scraping to apply a new 
gasket between the cylinder head and cylinders. Care must be 
taken in doing this work that the scrapers do not cut into the 
metal of the piston and leave a rough spot. The metal should be 
left as smooth as possible. Also the carbon that is scraped off 
should be carefully scooped up and thrown away. Do not scrape 
so much at a time that particles are thrown around parts of the 
engine. The best plan is to cover up with cloths all parts likely 
to be affected by carbon particles and brush up the carbon as it 
is scraped. Every particle, no matter how small, should be 
wiped off the cylinder head and cylinders. Clean carefully 
around the cylinder head studs. A small particle left on the 
gasket seat will likely cause a leak. It is quite possible that a 
very hard deposit cannot be effectively removed by means of the 
ordinary scrapers, in which case a very sharp chisel lightly tapped 
with a hammer will do the work. Care must be exercised in this 
operation so the chisel does not cut into metal. 

Where a detachable head is used and the owner wants quick 
work without trouble, or where a non-detachable head is used 
and the owner does not wish to scrape either by leaving the 
cylinders intact or removing them, the oxygen method or the use 
of proprietary compounds is advisable. T.he chain method also 
is good. There are on the market today any number of com¬ 
pounds which are designed to remove carbon. Some of these 
compounds are nothing more than kerosene or a similar P^du^t 
camouflaged. They have no more value than kerosene, which 
often is successful in loosening the deposit, which then can get 
out with the exhaust. On the other hand, there are compounds 
which have more than ordinary merit. There are no compounds 
which will dissolve carbon. The compounds loosen the carbon. 
The owner should accept only a guaranteed product and he 
should use it strictly according to directions. Where this is done 
eood results will be had, as the writer can testify. Aside from 
kerosene and compounds, alcohol and other substances have been 
used with varying degrees of success. The compounds are the 

Ch Th P e er chafn b method consists in placing a length ° f 

the cylinder and then operating the engine. The rough suriaceb 


102 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


of the chain peck at the carbon and thus break the deposits. 
The chain thrown rapidly around inside the cylinder will do no 
harm to the metals. 

Whatever we get from crude oil contains carbon or a carbon 
compound, and it is because we use fuel and oil in the engine or 
in the transmission is a hydro-carbon—a compound composed of 
a number of smaller compounds of hydrogen and carbon ; hence 
the name hydro-carbon. In refining crude oil we get from its 
various kinds of hydro-carbons from the colorless gasolines to 
the black residuums. Whatever we get from crude oil contains 
carbon or a carbon compound, and it is because we use fuel and 
oil from crude petroleum which contains carbon that we have 
our carbon troubles. 

When we speak of complete combustion or complete burning 
we mean that all of the gasoline mixture entering the combustion 
chamber leaves the combustion chamber in another form. If 
everything that entered also left, but in another form, the interior 
of the engine would always be clean. Also if the lubricating oil 
that splashes on to the cylinder walls and gets into the combus¬ 
tion chamber could withstand the terrific heat it would not 
break down and deposit carbon. We get the greater amount of 
carbon deposit in an engine from the destruction of the gasoline 
and lubricating oil, though we have heard it said that the dust 
from the air taken into the engine is responsible for some carbon 
deposits. I do not know of any test that has been conducted 
to determine the amount, but I should imagine it to be negligible 
as compared with the. deposit from gasoline and lubricating oil. 
We cannot get around the fact that the carbon is in the fuel 
and the oil, and so long as we use that kind of fuel and oil the 
way we are using it now we are going to have carbon troubles, 
for we seem not to have learned how to use these substances so 
that the carbon will pass out. 

The carbon from the fuel mixtures and oil deposits first on 
the pistons and cylinders in the form of a dust. First a single 
layer of this fine carbon deposits, then another over that, and 
another over the second, and so on until after the engine has 
been used some time there is a veritable incrustation of carbon 
over the inside of the cylinders and on the pistons. Usually the 
carbon first gets its hold on some rough surface or a small pro¬ 
jection, because the smooth surfaces do not permit good ad¬ 
hesion, and an explosion is likely to blow off the surface. 

There seems to be a vast difference between the carbon de¬ 
posit from gasoline and that from lubricating oil; the latter com¬ 
ing as it does from the oil, carries with it a small quantity of 
lubricant which keeps the mass moist and non-adhesive. The car¬ 
bon deposit, as a result of incomplete burning of the fuel mixture 
lacks this moistness, and such a deposit of long standing is 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES • 103 

almost as hard as glass and adheres so strongly to the metal 
surfaces that sometimes even a chisel and hammer are required 
to remove it. The writer had occasion recently to examine the 
interiors of some twenty engines after the cars had covered 
over 1,000 continuous miles each. The fuel mixture in every 
case was the best possible, and the carbon deposits that had 
formed were a result mostly of the breaking down of the oil 
that had leaked into the combustion chamber. The deposits in 
nearly every case were soft, oil-moistened masses, not evenly 
distributed over the areas, but lumped on one side. These deposits 
could easily be lifted out with the fingers, and it is a matter of 
speculation as to the length of time such a deposit remains in a 
cylinder. They did no particular harm apparently and caused 
none of the usual symptoms of carbon, but still there was as 
much as three ounces. in a small cylinder. In all probability 
the excess of oil continually over the carbon prevented incan¬ 
descence from occurring, and the blowing out of oil lumps and 
formation of new ones kept an almost constant but harmless sup¬ 
ply in the cylinders. 

Aside from depositing on piston tops and combustion chamber 
walls, the carbon covers the valve seats and valve faces, and it is 
easy to see how the small carbon particles are actually imbedded 
in the metal as the valve is forced against its seat. Particles of 
loose carbon also work past the top of the piston and if there is 
room they will lodge behind the piston rings, preventing the ring 
from making a gastight joint. The small carbon particles make 
their way to all working surfaces, even to the valve stems. In 
addition to preventing perfect seating and operating of such parts 
as valves and piston rings, the carbon acts as an abrasive and 
induces rapid wear of the metal. Much of the valve stem wear 
and valve stem guide wear and piston ring wear is due to the 
cutting action of carbon particles. A quantity of the carbon 
thrown down in the combustion chamber gets past the pistons 
and makes its way to the crankcase, mixing wih the oil and 
reducing its lubricating qualities. At the same time the oil car¬ 
ries some of the carbon particles to interior working surfaces, 
such as the camshaft, engine bearings and timing gears. It may 
not seem as though a very fine powdery substance in the oil 
can do any harm, but the cumulative effect of constant, rubbing 
of parts with carbon-laden oil between results in rapid wear. 
The oil strainer is not fine enough to hold out the very finely 
ground material, so it circulates and recirculates and does its 
damage. There is no telling how long an engine would last if 
its interior could be well lubricated all the time with clean oil. 

An engine that is carbonized acts very much like a man who 
is constipated. Ability to do effective work is reduced; his 
actions are erratic at times; he may have a fever and complain 


104 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


aloud. The engine acts almost in the same way, for it gets over¬ 
heated, which is the fever; it lacks power, which reduces its 
ability to work; it may misfire and backfire, knock and do a lot 
of queer things which often cannot be accounted for. Quite 
naturally an engine may get overheated and misfire and do all 
these things from other causes besides the presence of carbon in 
large and undesirable quantities, but where the combination of 
knocking, overheating and misfiring occur, and the other systems 
are known to be all right, it is almost certain to be carbon. The 
knocking or complaining aloud is simply a preignition knock, 
giving exactly the same sound as a spark knock. The mixture 
simply explodes before it should, but with carbon as the cause 
it is due to hot particles igniting the charge the instant it enters 
the cylinders, without regard for the position of the pisons. 
In a badly carbonized engine the carbon gets so hot that it takes 
a long while for it to cool after the engine has stopped, with the 
result that even with the ignition switch turned off there is 
enough heat in the carbon to ignite the charge and keep the 
engine running. The motorist of today is fully aware that carbon 
is bothersome and costly, but, being powerless to change condi¬ 
tions, he is most concerned with how he can remove carbon 
already deposited and retard the depositing as much as possible. 

Despite all care and precaution and the advice of all the 
seasoned motorists, garagemen, repairmen and advertisements, 
carbon does deposit and eventually has to be removed by some 
means, but this is not to say that the motorists cannot by neglect 
of certain matters cause a great deal more carbon to deposit than 
would otherwise be the case. Since it is known that the carbon 
comes from the gasoline and oil, then two things must be done. 
The mixture must not be so rich or so lean that too much of it 
goes unburned. Experiment is the best teacher here. The air to 
gasoline ratio is changed until the exhaust is clean (colorless) 
and gives the least pungency. When too rich or too lean a 
large portion of the carbon does not combine and this portion 
settles on the metal surfaces. The oil feed must be such that 
not too much gets onto the cylinder walls and pistons, for if 
too much is present there will be greater chance for some of it 
getting into the combustion chamber to burn, leaving its deposit 
of carbon. It is not always possible for the motorist to have in 
his control the burning of oil in the combustion chamber. Even 
though the correct amount of oil be used, there may be an un¬ 
natural leakage past the pistons and piston rings due to worn or 
ill-fitting parts. When the oil gets into the combustion chamber 
in this way the condition is generally called oil pumping. The 
remedy for oil pumping will, of course, vary with the specific 
deposits. I do not know of any test that has been conducted 
cause. 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


105 


CAUSES OF ENGINE KNOCKS 


TpHE causes of “knocking” in a motor may be classified as 

-*• follows: “Inside Knocks ”—loose or worn connecting rod 

bearings; worn wrist pins; loose or worn main bearings and 
loose timing gears: “Outside Knocks ”—a loose flywheel, badly 
adjusted or worn valve tappets or push rods; magneto or pump 
couplings loose or out of line; and the effect of heat and pre¬ 
ignition. 

A loose or worn connecting rod bearing is probably the easiest 
of detection—unless very bad it will only appear on the explosion 
stroke and will increase with the load, such as quick acceleration, 
or hill climbing, when the motor is delivering its full output. If 
very loose, it will appear at every stroke. Opening and closing 
the throttle two or three times, and noting if it increases with 
increased spark lead, will prove in a very few moments where 
the trouble is. 

A wrist pin will cause a knock practically identical with 
that of a connecting rod, though it may be deeper “tone”— 
and the same method of detection can be employed, though 
it is impossible to tell while driving whether the cause be a 
wrist pin or connecting rod bearing. 

The main bearings may cause either a simple, regular 
knock, or an irregular one, which is most apparent at high 
engine speeds, and while accelerating may cause a knock akin 
to a rattle. The determination of its location while driving 
is difficult. 

Timing gears loose on the shaft will cause a knock that 
cannot be felt through the car, as can the knocks above, and 
this condition is usually accompanied by a scraping sound, 
due to the gear scraping on the gear case. 

A loose flywheel will cause a very puzzling knock that can 
be felt through the car, usually regular, but the cause cannot 
be fixed upon with any certainty while driving. 

Worn or badly adjusted valve lifts will cause a light, sharp 
knock that will be regular, but may vary in intensity from 
time to time. This knock is easily determined on account of 
the regularity and time, and it does not vary with the output 
of the engine. 

Magneto or pump couplings will cause a rapid and light 
knock, if loose or out of line. They can usually be located 
by the rapidity and lightness of the sound. 

An overheated engine will knock in all the cylinders and 
as it comes on gradually and is accompanied by loss of power 
and boiling of the water, it cannot fail of detection. 

Pre-ignition, if due to too great a spark lead, will cause a 
knock evenly in all the cylinders, which, can be felt through 


106 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the car, and which ceases the moment the spark is retarded. 
If due to carbon, or glowing particles in the cylinder, it may 
cease on a light throttle. 

The only rule that one can apply to the detection of any knock 
in the motor, while driving, is to note first, its “time”— 
whether crank shaft or cam shaft speed; second, its intensity 
and “tone” (an “outside knock” will be sharper and clearer 
than an “inside knock,” with the exception of a loose fly¬ 
wheel, which resembles an “inside knock”—and in general the 
lighter the tone the smaller the part that is knocking) ; and 
third, whether it increases with the speed or load of the en¬ 
gine, and with greater spark lead. Having determined these, 
most knocks can readily be located. G. M., Schenectady, N. Y. 

Similarity of Sounds 

Knocks in engines are easily heard, but mighty hard to 
locate at times, even by the most experienced. The knocks 
caused by excessive spark advance, pre-ignition, short pistons 
and improperly bored piston-pin bearings in the piston sound 
annoyingly alike, while connecting rod knocks either at the 
wrist bearings or piston-pin and main bearings knocks are 
similar. In another group are the hot knocks caused by lack 
of oil or water and knocks caused by carbon. 

Some description of these knocks, together with suggestions 
for locating them, follows: Spark advance knock, too much 
lead, even metallic sound accompanied by loss of power. 
On slight up-grade throw spark lever toward retard, if engine 
not only stops knocking but shows increased power the trou¬ 
ble is located. Pre-ignition from carbon or other cause; same 
sound as above, but will not yield to retarding spark lever. 
Throw off ignition switch, if engine continues to fire it is car¬ 
bonized. 

Loose connecting rods at either end and loose main bear¬ 
ings produce dull, hollow knock, hardly noticeable when 
engine is running light, but increasing in volume as the load 
is increased. 

Valve-stem knock caused by wear at points of contact be¬ 
tween valve-stem and push rod. Light metallic clicking once 
every other revolution at all speeds and loads. Push-rod 
guide knock; guide wears slightly elliptical under the side 
pressure of the rising cam. Knocks every other revolution; 
about same sound as valve-stem knock, but a little deeper in 
tone as the guide is placed in the engine base. 

Hot knocks caused by lack of oil or water; great loss of 
power as friction is greatly increased and piston sticks slightly 
at end of each stroke. Look for signs of over-heating. 

Benj. A. Wright, Newport, Ky. 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


107 


Knocks on the Road 

Since this is really nothing more than a lesson in cause 
and. effect, heed the following: that without at least an ac¬ 
quaintance with your motor it is hopeless to attempt to locate 
a “knock,” that the volume, rapidity and continuity of the 
“knock”, vary with the speed of the motor, and that a little 
logic is indispensable. 

What at first may appear to be a full-fledged “knock” will 
often prove to be merely a loose drip pan or a part of the 
wiring or piping systems vibrating and striking a part of the 
machine. Also, there will possibly be the continuous clatter 
at the extreme front of the machine, caused by the failure of 
the starting crank ratchet to disengage entirely. 

There is one shining axiom for the motorist—remedy a 
“knock” immediately. It will be found that the trouble grows 
more serious as we go from the light “knock” to, in the 
vernacular, the “thump” or “pound.” 

As a rule it will be easier to locate the “knock” by disen¬ 
gaging the clutch for a short distance. Practically all 
“knocks” are more evident at high motor speeds, but a light 
“knock” will be readily located at low. 

The light “knock” coming from oil or water pump will 
be caused—by the presence of foreign matter, by broken 
parts or irregular wear or by imperfect alignment of shafts 
or gears and sometimes, in the piston or plunger types, a 
slightly louder knock will be occasioned by a stuck, bent or 
broken plunger. 

Of much the same volume as the latter will be the steady 
magneto “knock” due to imperfect connection or alignment of 
the magneto and driving shafts or gears. 

A slightly sharper “knock” or “slap” from the valves is 
nearly always due to too much space between the push rods 
and valve stems. It is designated “noisy tappets.” Outside 
of this the trouble will usually be due to a weak or broken 
spring or to a lost or broken spring retainer. From this vicin¬ 
ity will come the camshaft “knock,” due to a loose bearing or 
spring shaft. The “knock” may also be possibly due to a 
chipped or sprung push rod or a “stuck” valve. 

The loud “knock” in a cylinder is usualy due to early or 
late ignition, otherwise to defective lubrication or to irregu¬ 
larly worn or broken piston rings. The slightly sharper 
“knock” from the same locality denotes a loose or broken 
wrist pin or a loose piston. If the connecting rod bearing at 
the wrist pin or the wrist pin bushings, are loose or uneven, 
a duller “knock” or light “thump” will be noticed. A loose, gritty 
or imperfectly aligned connecting rod bearing, a bent connecting 


108 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


rod or the presence of a bolt, etc., in the crankcase will 
cause a very loud “knock” to emanate from the crankcase. 
The “knock” will develop into more of a “pound” if one of 
the crankshaft bearings is loose or gritty, or if the crank¬ 
shaft is sprung. Very seldom a “knock” or, rather, “thump,” 
that seems to fill the whole base of the motor will be noticed, 
due to the slightly imperfect alignment of the motor or fly¬ 
wheel, or, perhaps, to a loose flywheel. 

The cause and location of a “knock” are almost coincident 
and the remedy suggests itself, so there is no reason whatso¬ 
ever for allowing any “knock” to go unattended to. 

F. S. Salter, Detroit, Mich. 


LOCATING TROUBLE BY SOUND 

W EAR and looseness about those parts of an automobile not 
connected with the power plant and transmission are gen¬ 
erally detected without much difficulty. Their first evidence is 
almost always a rattle or squeak whose exact location, if it stops 
when the car stops, is readily traced simply by shaking the sus¬ 
pected parts. Among these are mud guards, external brake 
bands, distance rods, etc. Noises of this character are not neces¬ 
sarily serious in the way that engine noises are serious, since 
they do not indicate destructive damage; neverthelss they are 
annoying and they tend to drown noises of greater significance. 
For this reason they should be suppressed promptly. 

Faults in the engine must generally be located, or at least 
approximated, by sound. A quiet running engine, if it devel¬ 
ops proper power, is not likely to be much out of order. As 
the engine is the most costly part of the car, it is the most 
important part to keep in order, and for that reason any un¬ 
usual sounds emanating from it call for prompt attention. 
The principal abnormal engine noises may be listed as follows: 

Crank and wrist pin bearing knocks; main bearing knocks; 
pre-ignition knocks; valve clearance knocks; valve lifter side 
knocks; cam shaft bearing knocks; loose bushings in pump, 
or loose pump or magneto gear shaft bushings; timing gears 
worn; magneto drive loose; magneto shaft bearings loose; 
weak exhaust from cutout due to compression leaks; misfiring 
or irregularly timed explosion; loud exhaust with weak power 
due to retarded ignition. 

These various kinds of noises are identified by the character 
of the sound, whether heavy or light, sharp or muffled, etc., 
partly also by its frequency as compared with the running 
period of the engine, and still further by noting whether the 



COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


109 


sound is loudest at low or high speed, and under reduced or 
open throttle. Experience is very necessary, and even an 
expert may at times be puzzled. 

List of Causes 

To take the list in order, the reader is particularly cautioned 
against jumping to the conclusion that any knock he hears 
may be in the principal bearings of the engine. It is import¬ 
ant that such a knock, when it occurs and is definitely traced, 
should be corrected, but it is equally important not to “mon¬ 
key” with these bearings till the need for doing so is estab¬ 
lished. A crank or wrist pin knock is likely to be most notice¬ 
able under two conditions; when opening the throttle to pull 
uphill, and when the engine is running very fast. Such a 
knock, if only one bearing is involved, will at low speeds 
occur at every other revolution, i. e., when the explosion 
occurs in that cylinder. At high speeds the same may be 
true, but owing to the confusion of other sounds this cannot 
always be determined. To test the matter, cut out the spark 
from one cylinder after another. When the explosions are 
stopped in the cylinder affected the knock will cease also, 
If the looseness is material this test can be made with the 
clutch open and the engine running idle. 

A knock in one of the main bearings is less common than 
the above. When it occurs it is most likely to be located in 
the front bearing, owing to the weight of the flywheel holding 
down the rear end of the shaft even though the rear bearing 
be loose. If a jack can be put under the front end of the shaft 
and worked gently up and down, it will show whether or not 
the front bearing is loose. If that bearing is snug the inter¬ 
mediate bearing or bearings may be affected. In this case 
also cutting out the spark will stop the knocking, though if 
the intermediate bearing is affected the two adjacent cylin¬ 
ders instead of one will have to be cut out. In this last case 
the knock will be heard once for each explosion in the ad¬ 
jacent cylinders. 

Before taking down the oil pan to trace a knock in the 
main or connecting rod bearings it is best to make sure that 
the knock is not elsewhere (see. following paragraphs). If 
everything else appears to be all right the loose bearing can be 
located by removing the oil pan and feeling carefully of the 
bearings in turn. A jack under one of the cranks next to the 
suspected main bearings will show whether that bearing is 
loose. Looseness on the crank pin may be detected by grasp¬ 
ing the crank with one hand and the rod with the other, and 
working the rod endwise with some force. Every connecting 


110 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


rod has some end play on the crank and wrist pins, and this 
must not be confused with radial play of the bearing. A very 
slight looseness, only enough to be felt through the cushion 
of oil in the bearing, is sufficient to produce a knock. 

Pre-Ignition Knocks 

Pre-ignition knocks are sharply distinguished from bearing 
knocks. They are caused by spontaneous ignition of the charge 
prematurally. 

Pre-ignition knocks are all alike in sound, and all you have to 
do to find out how such a knock sounds is to advance the spark 
fully when the engine is pulling hard. Pre-ignition knocks in¬ 
clude carbon knocks, spark knock, knocks caused by ignition 
out of time, valves out of time, mixture too rich or too lean. 
The symptom is a more or less sharp metallic hammering, very 
marked in aggravated cases and softening to a mere thump 
when actual pre-ignition does not take place, but the spread of 
the flame is materially hastened by the heated carbon deposits. 
An almost invariable test is the persistence of the explosion 
when the switch is opened. Pre-ignition is most marked when 
the engine is pulling hard at slow speeds, and it may disappear 
entirely with high speed and advanced spark. 

By valve clearance knocks is meant simply the clicking due 
to excessive clearance between the valve stem and its lifter. 
The smaller this clearance the more slowly is the lifter mov¬ 
ing at the instant it strikes the stem. An excessive clearance 
results in the lifter striking the stem a smart blow. It also 
results in the valve head hammering on its seat. The effect 
on engine power of having the valve open and close a little 
sooner or later is insignificant compared with the gain in 
quiet running by reducing the clearance to its minimum. 
Twice the thickness of a visiting card is ample for almost any 
engine, provided the cam is accurately profiled and both cam 
and roller are unworn. Wear in these parts necessitates greater 
clearance. 

Any noises in the valve gear are most marked at high speed, 
but they are noticeable at any speed. Cutting ou the spark 
does not affect them, and the best way to trace the noise to 
its source is to run the car out-of-doors (to avoid echoes) and 
press one end of a light wand some feet long to the valve lifter 
housing, and the other to the teeth or chin. By trying one 
located (if in the last-mentioned test the valve clearance 
proves not to be excessive, the trouble is probably inside 
play of the valve lifter). Looseness of the lifter in its guide 
results in a clatter quite as objectionable as that due to ex¬ 
cessive valve stem clearance. The simple remedy is to throw 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


111 


away the worn parts and replace with new. Usually the fit 
of the lifter can be tested without taking it out, simply by 
shaking its upper end. 

Occasionally an obscure knock may be traced to looseness 
of the camshaft itself in some particular bearing. This 
looseness results in a knock when the nearest cam goes into 
action. Most modern engines have split bronze bushings on the 
camshaft and these bushings, whose diameter slightly exceeds 
that of the cams, are held by set screws. By taking off the 
front cover plate over the timing gears and slackening the set 
screws the entire cam shaft with its bushings can be with¬ 
drawn through the front end of the crank case with the bush¬ 
ings on it. It is then easy to inspect the bushings and re¬ 
place them if needed. In ordering new bushings it should be 
stated precisely which one of the series is wanted, since the 
bushings are sometimes of graded diameters to pass freely 
through the holes. 

Other places where loose bushings may cause noise are in 
the circulating pump and on the shafts of the pinions driving 
the pump and magneto. If the pump is of the centrifugal 
type it may run quite loose with no more harm than some 
leakage through the stuffing box, but if it is the oscillating or 
eccentric type its rotating member will wobble if the bushing 
is loose. Similarly loose bushings on the pump or magneto 
gear shaft will cause noise if there is any tendency to oscilla¬ 
tion. 

Backlash in the timing gears, whether due to wear or to im¬ 
perfect fitting, will cause noise, especially at low speeds, ow¬ 
ing to the tendency of the valve springs when descending to 
accelerate the cam shafts. Unless the gears are materially 
worn this is not a serious matter. It is, however, to be borne 
in mind that the effect of wear anywhere in the valve operat¬ 
ing mechanism, from crank shaft to valves themselves, is to 
retard the opening and retard the closing of the valves. In an 
old engine the cumulative effect of wear in the timing gears, 
the cam shaft bushings, the valve lifters and guides, coupled 
with the excessive clearance required by wear, all combine 
to change the valve timing very materially. 

Magneto Knocks 

If the flexible coupling through, which the magneto . is 
driven is at all loose, the slack in it will be taken up twice 
in every revolution, and if the coupling is broken or defective 
a pronounced knocking may result. In the days of plain bear¬ 
ing armatures it sometimes happened that the bearings wore 
down to such an extent that the armature actually struck the 


112 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


pole pieces. With the present ball-bearing armature only de¬ 
struction of the ball bearing could permit such an occurrence. 

A very good imitation of misfiring is given by an engine, 
especially if small, with leaky valves. It does not take much 
of a leak to put a cylinder practically out of business, except 
at high speeds. When the cutout is opened the resulting ab¬ 
sence of sound from the leaky cylinder strongly resembles 
that due to failure of the spark. The simplest test is to open 
all the compression cocks save one, and test the compression 
by cranking with the switch open. Actual misfiring or ir¬ 
regular ignition may be due to the timer wobbling on its shaft, 
or to the timer contacts being worn, or to the contact maker 
or the magneto being out of order. These are things which 
the intelligent owner can investigate for himself. They do not 
need to be matters of shop expense unless he so chooses. 

Abnormal sounds in the transmission or drive system gen¬ 
erally are fewer and more easily traced than those in the 
engine, and unless pronounced the injury caused by temporary 
neglect is not so costly. A square shaft drive between the 
clutch and the gear box may sometimes “get in step” with 
engine when worn loose, and the resulting knock has the 
sound of an engine knock. A square jaw coupling between 
the clutch and the gear case frequently causes annoyance, 
though no damage, by its rattling when the clutch is re¬ 
leased or engaged. The noise is easily stopped by riveting in 
pieces of leather on the non-driving sides of the clutch jaws 
to fill the space. 


Watch the Gear Case 

Noises in the gear case itself are mostly due to one of the 
following causes: worn gears, shaft loose in bearings, and 
sprung shaft. Worn gears call for no special comment, save 
that to replace them sometimes requires appliances such as an 
arbor press, which the amateur may not have. The bolts 

which hold them to their flanges must fit their holes per¬ 
fectly and be headed over after screwing up, otherwise they 
will .work loose. Loose bearings are best investigated by 
cleaning the grease or oil completely out of the gear case 

and washing it clean with gasoline or kerosene. If the bear¬ 
ings are plain they are easily scored by steel grit from the 
gears, unless special provision is made to keep the grit out 
of them. Though looseness in these bearings may not seem 
to do any harm, it results in the gear teeth not bearing 
squarely against each other. As the gears are very hard 

and the shafts very stiff, the effect of this is to localize the 

pressure at the ends or corners of the teeth, which therefore 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


113 


wear away rapidly. A gear thus deformed may be considered 
useless. The chief value of ball bearings in the gear case 
is not so much the reduction of friction, but the fact that 
they keep the gear shafts accurately aligned and do not them¬ 
selves need frequent replacement. Badly worn plain bear¬ 
ings cause a frightful jarring, grinding and jumping of the 
gears when using any but the direct drive. When the trans¬ 
mission gets in this condition, the only thing to do is to 
"scrap” both gears and bushings. 

A sprung gear shaft results in a pulsating noise from the 
gears which is unmistakable. In the rare cases where one is 
in doubt whether a certain noise comes from the engine or 
the transmission, the seat of the trouble can generally be 
located by noting whether or not it continues when the 
clutch is released, and whether or not it shows change when 
some other gear is engaged. If a knock is heard when the 
gears are in neutral with the clutch engaged, it may be due 
to looseness in any of the gear shaft bearings except the 
after bearing of the sliding set, or it may be in the joint 
or other connection between the clutch and the gears. A 
stick held between the gear box and the chin goes far to 
locate the noise. 


WHEN THE MOTOR MISFIRES 


M ISSED explosions in the action of the gasoline engine of 
multi-cylinder type used in automobiles constitutes one of the 
most exasperating troubles that tend to destroy the happiness 
of an automobile driver. 

The reason for the mental disturbance caused by misfiring 
is due to the frequent elusiveness of the cause and consequent 
inability to remedy the trouble. 

The first requisite in solving this problem is to know the 
possible causes that must be considered in order to arrive at a 
correct conclusion, so that direct effort may be facilitated 
and useless tinkering be avoided. 

The following arranged system offers a means to that end: 
No. i. Irregular Ignition .—Loose electric connections. 
Fouled spark points. Faulty spark gaps (current, contacts). 

No. 2. Faults of Spark Plugs .—Carbon or oil deposits. 

Leaking gaskets, or porcelains. Improper spark gaps. 

No. 3. Compression Faults .—Too high for the voltage. 
Worn or broken piston rings. Piston ring gaps in line. Loose 
spark plug. Leaking valves. 

No. 4. Electric Faults .—Jarring together of conductors. 



114 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Worn high tension cables. Moisture in magneto distributor. 
Break in wire of tension coil. Burned out spark points. 

No. 5. Faults of Valve Action .—Improper seating of push 
rods. Carbon deposits on valve surfaces. Gummed push rod 
bushings. Warped valve stems. Burned surfaces on valves 
and seats. 

No. 6. Faults of Cooling. System— Clogging of water cham¬ 
bers, etc. Pump inefficiency. Empty radiator. 

No. 7. Carbureter Faults .—Irregular mixture at different 
speeds. Lack of free flow. Bottom of gas tank too low. 

No. 8. The use of improper substances to remove carbon 
desposits from cylinders, resulting in scoring of cylinder walls, 
bent spark plug points, and loose granular matter in cylinders. 

No. 9. Uncovering of concealed “blowholes” in cylinder 
walls by piston wear, resulting in leaks of water into the 
cylinder, or compression. 

No. 10. The use of improper lubricating oil. 

A. D. Hard, Marshall, Minnesota. 

Causes Many and Varied 

The missing of explosions occasions much annoyance and 
waste and does the car no good; the causes are many and 
varied; some are common and easily located, while others are 
obscure and rarely encountered. 

Probably the sooted spark plug is the most common cause 
of missed explosions, especially with the beginner who has not 
recovered from the supposition that more gasoline gives more 
power. The detection of this trouble is sometimes complicated 
by the fact that soot may be deposited on the plug at certain 
throttle openings and burn off again at others, owing to inher¬ 
ent imperfection in the carbureter or because the user does 
not regulate it properly. Much could be said on the adjust¬ 
ment of carbureters; it would be out of place to attempt to 
cover the ground here, but reference to the subject may fur¬ 
nish a hint to those who need it to look in that direction. 
An external spark gap may be used to make the spark jump 
between the plug points, but it is by all means better to re¬ 
move the’ cause of sooting and thereby gain power and also 
save fuel at the same time. 

Other causes of missing are weak battery; loose primary 
circuit connections; primary wires not well insulated; timer 
worn or loose. In Ford cars the vibrators may not be in good 
adjustment; vibrator contacts in need of dressing; poor timer 
ground; warped switch base. 

There may be a leak in the high tension cables; to find this 
they should be examined in the dark with the engine running. 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


115 


The spark plug points may be either too far apart or too near 
together; 1-32 to 1-64 of an inch is the distance often recom¬ 
mended. Water may be between the plug points; the plug in¬ 
sulation may be cracked or punctured; the spark coil may be 
broken down. 

There may be too little or too much gasoline fed; the gaso¬ 
line may have water in it; a gasoline pipe or some small 
passage in the carbureter may be clogged; it can often be dis¬ 
lodged by opening the needle valve a turn or two and then 
closing it to the ordinary position. 

Leaky inlet valve; inlet valve spring weak; leak around the 
inlet valve stem; lack of valve stem clearance; valve stem 
gummed; inlet valve setting not right; a leak in inlet manifold. 

Exhaust valve leaking compression; exhaust valve spring 
weak; too little clearance between exhaust valve stem and 
tappet; exhaust valve set wrong; exhaust choked, probably by 
clogged muffler. 

Broken, worn or gummed piston rings; piston ring cuts in 
line; piston head or cylinder interior worn, cracked or scored; 
lack of cylinder lubrication. 

The magneto may be at fault; to test for this use the bat¬ 
tery instead of a dual system is used. 

Obstructed air passage; perhaps from dust-clogged air 
strainer; too small opening in manifold gasket; this unusual 
trouble was found on a car which ran regularly until it went 
to a repair shop where the faulty gasket was put in. 

It will be frequently noted that at certain speeds the engine 
will run with perfect regularity, while at others it will persist 
in skipping. It will invariably miss if throttled enough, and 
this is not to be wondered at when we remember that the ex¬ 
haust is at best far from complete and that with an engine 
having an ordinary compression space 25 per cent of the “pure” 
charge is, under the best possible conditions, composed of 
burned gas, and if throttled to take in only one-third the capac¬ 
ity of the cylinder there are equal parts of burned and fresh 
gas. This large proportion of foul gas, together with lack of 
good compression (an unavoidable feature of throttling), 
ignites less readily than the normal charge, and if the 
throttling is carried very far skipping is sure to follow, espe¬ 
cially if for any reason the motor is at all predisposed in that 
direction. As the throttling greatly encourages air leakage 
around inlet valve stems and at all other possible places it is 
really surprising that the missing is not more serious than it 
usually is. 

Frank N. Blake, North Adams, Mass. 


116 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


MISFIRING AT LOW SPEEDS 

I F the engine is being sparked by a magneto, the speed of the 
magneto may not be great enough to produce a spark of suffi¬ 
cient intensity regularly to ignite the cylinder charges. Much 
trouble is encountered if the battery is weak, or if battery con¬ 
nections are not clean and tight. In all systems the battery sup¬ 
plies ignition current below a given engine speed and if the 
battery is weak or the feeding wires not tight, well insulated and 
have clean terminals, the spark will be weak and misfiring result. 
Certain battery ignition systems have characteristic troubles 
which the instruction books go into at length. If the engine is 
running slowly on a wide-open throttle, the resistance to the 
passage of the spark within the cylinder is much greater than 
when the engine is running slowly with the throttle nearly closed. 
The power and intensity of a magneto spark is very much less 
with the magneto revolving slowly than when revolving rapidly. 

Having ascertained that a good spark is occurring in the 
cylinder, the fault may be in the carbureter. With a carbureter 
having a mechanically varied needle valve opening and an auto¬ 
matic auxiliary air valve, at low engine speed and wide-open 
throttle, the carbureter will frequently supply too rich a mixture. 
The remedy is properly to adjust the device which mechanically 
varies the needle valve opening; or if this does no good, the 
tension may not be right on the auxiliary air valve spring, it 
probably being too strong. The adjustments and the order in 
which they should be tried depend on the make and form of 
the carbureter, and the best suggestion would be to write the 
maker asking his instructions how to overcome the difficulty in 
the simplest manner. 

With the present low-grade gasoline in use, with the engine 
idling on an almost closed throttle, great variations exist in 
comparatively short periods of time in richness and condition 
of the mixture passing to the cylinders. The throttle 
valve has a tendency to throw any liquid drops coming from 
the carbureter against one side of the manifold. This liquid 
will creep along the walls and along the outer radii of all the 
curves and one or two cylinders in the engine will get a mix¬ 
ture too rich, while the others get one too lean. The remedy 
under such conditions is to hot-jacket the carbureter around 
the throttle valve and the inlet pipe for the first six or eight 
inches from the throttle. 

If the faulty running occurs at low engine speed and wide- 
open throttle, and a strong fat spark exists, and the carbureter 
is supplying a mixture having the proper proportions of air 
and gasoline, the trouble may be due to entrained drops of 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


117 


liquid gasoline and the uneven distribution of the manifold, 
which can be corrected by applying heat exactly as above. 

The compression may not be uniform in each cylinder, due 
to leaky valves or leaky piston rings. The remedy is to re¬ 
grind the valves and put kerosene in the cylinder over night. 
If the rings are prevented from properly expanding because 
they are gummed up with oil, the kerosene will put them in 
good condition. If the openings in the rings are all in the 
same vertical line, or one or more rings are broken, it will be 
necessary to remove the piston to remedy the trouble. 

In the case of leaky valves or rings, at high engine speeds, 
the leak might not be of sufficient size to make any appreciable 
difference. At low engine speeds, due to the greater time al¬ 
lowed the gas to escape through the leak, the result will be 
very noticeable. W. Rogers Wade, Tyrone, N. M. 

Compression Effects 

An engine which works well at ordinary speeds may miss 
when running slowly, because of one or more of the following 
reasons: 

An air leak somewhere between carbureter and cylinders, 
perhaps around worn inlet valve stems; this will dilute the 
normal mixture more at low speeds than at high, and if the 
engine is running slowly because of beidg throttled, the 
greater suction' increases the leakage at the very time when, 
because of reduced “gas” supply, the most harm is done. 

At low speeds and open throttle the compression is greater 
and sparking is thereby rendered more difficult; with an in' 
different coil, a weak battery, or with most magnetos this is a 
real but sometimes unrecognized trouble. 

The carbureter may be unsuitable for low speeds, or it may 
lack proper adjustment and at such times give either a too 
lean or too rich mixture; varying the supply of gasoline or of 
air will settle this point. 

Frank N. Blake. North Adams. Mass. 

Compression and Carburetion 

When running slowly on a level road with the throttle al¬ 
most closed, the engine will frequently miss an explosion in 
one or more of the cylinders, but the same engine generally 
will climb a slope under a load at low speed with the throttle 
partly open without missing an explosion. 

Often it will be found that some of the valves are leaking 
slightly and the engine, when running with almost closed 
throttle, will take in only very small charges of a weak 
mixture, and these small, weak charges will then partly escape 
through the leaking valve, so that there is very little left for 


118 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


an explosion, while the engine running slowly with open 
throttle, and thus taking in almost full charges of a richer 
mixture, will have enough compressed gas of good quality 
left to give a fair explosion. C. Feig, Armstrong, B. C. 


LOSS OF COMPRESSION 

T^VERYONE who is acquainted with the joys and sorrows of 
^ motoring will realize that loss of compression is nothing to 
be looked forward to. Its causes are numerous and in some in¬ 
stances hard to locate and remedy. Some of the most common 
are: 

1 . Pitted or worn valves or seats. This condition exists in 
all of the cylinders, particularly on the exhaust side. The only 
remedy is to thoroughly cleanse and then grind with some sharp 
abrasive—carborundum mixed with heavy oil does the job 
thoroughly and well with the least exertion—until the valve and 
its seat show up bright and clean, with no small spots. A piece 
of cloth or waste should be inserted in the valve pocket, so that 
none of the compound will enter the cylinder, as it will have 
the same effect on the polished wall as it did on the valve, caus¬ 
ing no end of trouble and eventually renewal of the parts. 

2. Particles of carbon or grit, lodged on the valve seat, pre¬ 
venting the valves seating properly. This is remedied by 
washing the valve seat off and if it is found to be pitted, 
grinding in as described in No. i. 

3. Insufficient clearance between valve stem and tapped rod. 
It should be adjusted so that a visiting card can be inserted. 

4. Leak in thread or gasket of spark plug, valve cap or pet 
cock. A hissing sound is the result, which can be traced by 
putting soap water around the above parts and noting where 
bubbles form. 

5. Valve stem bent or broken, thus holding valve from its 
seat. This can be remedied in the former instance by 
straightening stem in a lathe, but in the latter case only by 
renewal of the part. 

6. Broken or open pet cock, causing a loud hiss. 

The more infrequent causes are: 

1 . Insufficient lubrication in cylinder, causing undue wear. 
Knocking results and in some instances, squeaking. The oii 
level in crank case should be looked after. 

2. Worn or broken piston ring, which cause is located by 
hissing ni the cylinder. The offending cylinder can be found 
by turning the engine over by hand and noting which cylinder 
offers the least resistance. 

3. Cylinder scored by loose wrist pin or broken piston ring, 



COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 119 

Ilt^j * •> 

causing hissing noise, and can be traced in the manner above 
described. 

4. Cracked, broken or worn piston or cylinder, remedied in 
the latter case by having the cylinder reground and in the 
former two by either getting a new part or having it welded 
by the maker or some responsible concern. 

5. Broken or warped valves, which can be traced by exam¬ 
ining the valves carefully. Fred H. Wells, New York City. 

Prevention Best Cure 

In the order or the frequency of their occurrence, the causes 
of poor compression are as follows: 

Pitted and leaky valves. 

Gummed piston rings, with an accumulation of carbon be¬ 
hind them. 

Cylinder joint leaks. 

Piston ring ends getting in line. 

Worn cylinders and pistons. 

The remedies to be applied are quite as simple as is the 
statement of their causes and the systematic application of 
preventives, for the first two will of itself afford a process 
of elimination that will make the discovery of the more 
serious causes easy. 

For leaky valves there is, of course, but one remedy- 
grinding, which should be done every 1,500 to 2,000 miles, 
though I have driven a car 6,000 miles before there was a 
perceptible falling off in power. However, the result of this 
negligence involved the purchase of new exhaust valves, which 
would not have been necessary had the grinding been carried out 
systematically. 

To prevent piston rings becoming gummed the motor should 
be given a dose of kerosene, applied through the pet-cocks. 

The use of a graphite preparation in the lubricant, in suit¬ 
able proportions, will make a very perceptible improvement 
in the compression of a motor, and the betterment will natur¬ 
ally be more apparent on an old car. It will also affect a marked 
economy in oil and keep the motor in better condition. 

When a motor that is regularly cleaned with kerosene, lu¬ 
bricated as mentioned and has its valves ground regularly, 
shows a serious loss of power, the lack of proper compression 
may safely be ascribed to the piston rings having worked into 
line, or the cylinders having worn to a point where the pistons 
are unduly loose. With the modern type of pinned or composite 
rings the former is a rare fault nowadays, so that the cause 
is narrowed down to plain wear, granted that other causes are 
not at fault, such as wear of the valve stems, push rods, etc. 

Richard Wright, New York. 


120 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


Classifying Causes 

Faulty cylinder compression is caused by the following 
troubles, which, for convenience in locating and remedying, can 
be divided into two groups. 

First, leaky spark plugs and priming cocks, valves not 
seating, caused by bent or gummy stem or lack of clearance 
between valve stem and the lift, gummy piston rings. 

Second, leaky valves (warped, cracked or carbon on the 
seat), broken or worn out piston rings, cracked piston or 
cylinder. 

The troubles of the first group can be located and reme¬ 
died without dismantling the engine, while any of the second 
group necessitates the removal of part or the entire faulty 
cylinder. However, in any event, the first thing to do is to 
locate the faulty cylinder by the following method: Crank 
over slowly without spark until the weak compression is felt, 
then switch on the vibrator and find the “juicy" plug by 
touching or using a screw driver; this gives the bad cylinder. 

Now squirt cylinder oil around porcelain and threads of the 
plugs, and in and around the priming cock, start the motor, 
any great amount of bubbling or blowing will reveal the trouble, 
the remedy is obvious. 

If the trouble is not here, next examine the valve stems. If 
they are gummed or bent they will stick up when the motor is 
turned over. Kerosene will cut the gum; straighten if bent. 
Test the clearance next. Crank over slowly until the lift is at 
its lowest position, then if there is sufficient clearance a piece 
of paper can be passed between the stem and lift; if not, adjust 
to the thickness of a visiting card when the engine is cold. 
Nothing wrong with the valves, the piston rings may be 
gummy and stuck in their grooves. These can be loosened by 
squirting a gun of kerosene into the cylinder. If it is certain 
that none of the first division troubles is the cause of the faulty 
compression, proceed to the second. Remove the exhaust valve 
of the bad cylinder. If not found cracked or carbon on the 
seat, clean with gasoline and mark around the seating surface 
with a lead pencil or chalk, replace the valve, turn around a 
few times and remove. Any mark left on the surface indicates 
a leak. Grinding is the remedy, or in case of carbon, scrape 
off. Repeat above operations with the intake valve if the ex¬ 
haust is not found faulty. Having made absolutely certain 
that the trouble is not among the foregoing causes, remove the 
cylinder. If a crack in the piston head or cylinder wall or a 
broken ring is not found, the rings are probably worn out and 
have lost their resiliency. This will be evident by the failure 
of the slots to open. These can be remedied by removing and 


COMMON ENGINE TROUBLES 


121 


stretching. To accomplish this, hang over the flat head of a large 
monkey wrench and tap it lightly with a hammer. The cylinder 
may be worn oval, which can easily be determined by the use 
of a pair of inside calipers. In this event a new cylinder is 
required. Percy L. Anderson, Wilmington, Del. 

Many Available Tests 

Faulty cylinder compression may be due to one of the follow¬ 
ing causes: Leaky inlet or exhaust valves, improper timing, leaky 
piston or rings, scored cylinder or leaks past spark plugs, pet 
cocks, etc. If the compression of all the cylinders of a gasoline 
engine is not the same, this can usually be detected in a four- 
cylinder engine by turning it over slowly by the starting crank. 
In a six-cylinder engine the strokes overlap, so that it may be 
necessary to close the pet cocks and try the compression of the 
cylinders in turn. 

Probably the most common cause of faulty compression is 
faulty valve action. Broken valve springs will be noted upon 
inspection, but a weakened spring can be detected only by be¬ 
ing compared with its mates. If a valve is found to be broken, 
be sure to recover all the broken pieces, in order that they may 
not do further damage. The valve seat should next be ex¬ 
amined and the valves reground if necessary. Valves should 
work wkh perfect freedom and with practically no friction 
between the valve stem and its guide. The caps over the valves 
should be tight and these, with the spark plugs, pet cocks, and 
any other joints, should next be examined. Lubricating oil or 
soap and water may be used to detect leaks and should be 
applied at the joints where leakage might be suspected. To 
test for faulty timing, remove the inlet and exhaust pipes and 
place the hands over the openings while the engine is being 
cranked. 

If there is still loss of compression, the crank case should be 
opened and the spark plugs removed from all the cylinders 
except that of the cylinder under test. If a hiss of escaping 
gas can be heard when the ear is placed near the crank case, 
there is a leak between the cylinder wall and the piston. It is 
possible that the piston rings may be stuck from deposits of 
carbon and burnt oil. Treatment with kerosene should remove 
this, but if it does not, the cylinder must be taken down and 
the walls and piston examined. 

J. L. Lansing, Worcester, Mass. 


CHAPTER VIII 

THE TRANSMISSION 


TRANSMISSION TROUBLES 

A CAR that has been used for some time is apt to develop 
troubles; perhaps due to neglect, perhaps to faulty construc¬ 
tion We had numerous ones in a two-year-old car. It was 
equipped with a standard make of rear axle, the transmission 
case being cast with the differential housing, and the driving 
being through a torque tube bolted to the front enc * °/, gear 
box and by means of a yoke on a cross member of the frame. 
One day, in driving up a hill, it became desirable to shift into 
second. When this was attempted, there was a loud bang and 
the car stopped. Investigation showed that it had attempted the 
perhaps impossible feat of going backward and forward at the 
same time, both second and reverse having gone in. I he. gears 
were shifted by two rods extending from the transmission to 
the cross member of the frame, on the front end of which were 
fingers which pushed back and forth by an extension on the 
shifting lever. One of these rods had become loosened in the 
gear box, and had fallen over towards the other in such a way 
that the shifting lever pushed both of them and pushed in the 
two gears at the same time. The quadrant which should have 
prevented this had been forced out of place. A temporary repair 
with a bit of hay wire enabled us to reach home, and a perma¬ 
nent repair was made by tightening the rod with a special socket 

W NoMong after this, while running on a smooth road, we were 
startled by a distressing pounding somewhere .in the inner work¬ 
ings of the car. We got out and got under, incidentally discov¬ 
ering, by the fact that it went into our ear, a stream of.gasoline 
from a leaking connection. Being then inexperienced in trans¬ 
mission diseases and their symptoms, we could not locate the 
trouble. We got home, and a repair man diagnosed it as smashed 
gears. We pulled the transmission to pieces and found a piece 
of gear tooth lodged between two teeth of the constant mesh 
gears. As the general condition of the gears appeared to be 
good, we extracted the piece, put the awkward contrivance to¬ 
gether again, and for a while had a respite from trouble. 

& In using the car on rough roads, we found that second would 

122 


123 


THE TRANSMISSION 
; ; ; m |j *■ : ,4ft ; ;! j 

not stay in unless held there by main strength. Examination 
showed that the edges of both second gears were so worn that 
they meshed at an angle. A couple of teeth were also missing 
from first. We remedied this by installing three new gears. 

Lubricant would not stay in the gear box. The gears cut paths 
in hard grease, without appropriating any, and soft grease ran 
out almost as fast as it was put in. Various makeshifts were 
tried; piping being wound around the propeller shaft and rags 
stuffed about the end of the torque tube, but without success. 
Finally the whole clutch assembly was pulled out, and the driving- 
yoke dropped, the universal joint taken off, and the end of the 
stuffing box on the end of the shaft packed so tightly with waste 
that no further leakage occurred. 

One day while we were leaning over the front seat of another 
car, looking into the open gear box and shifting the gears back and 
forth, it was noticed that whenever a gear was put in, the main 
shaft moved sideways. Taking hold of the shaft, it could be moved 
up and down and sideways. On removing the torque tube, the 
back end of which held the rear bearing of the propeller shaft, 
which was also the front bearing of the main transmission shaft, 
it was found that the whole bearing, which was annular ball, 
had a quarter of an inch play in the hole in which it was sup¬ 
posed to fit. At a nearby automobile factory a shim was fitted 
around the bearing which held it in proper place. In doing this 
work the waste which had been packed in to hold the lubricant 
was removed. But weary of pulling things to pieces, it was al¬ 
lowed to leak, and every few days the grease was scraped up 
from the floor boards and frame and put hack in the gear box. 

The rear axle did not give so much trouble. The right wheel 
had been allowed to run loosely, and so wore the end of the 
shaft and inside of the hubs that it could not be kept tight with¬ 
out binding against the brakes. A shim of thin iron was fitted 
to the taper on the shaft. This had to be renewed once or twice 
until the right material was obtained, and then it lasted a long 
time. The whole rear of the car rattled 'badly. The wheel bear¬ 
ings were so loose that the wheels hopped up and down, hitting 
the brakes. As the bearings were non-adjustable no remedy was 
applied. The rear axle hummed disagreeably. It hummed much 
harder going around a right hand corner than around a left 
hand one; but there were no adjustments of any kind on the 
axle, and we had to let it hum. ■' 

We have always been grateful to this car, for it furnished a 
school of adversity in which we learned many things of advan¬ 
tage in a short time, and which it would have been impossible 
for us to acquire in a better car. 


E. A. S., West Haven, Conn. 


124 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Trouble Generally Lies in Repair Shop 

Transmission troubles are very rare, but rear axle trouble, 
especially in the differential, is often encountered. Nine times 
out of ten, differential trouble can be traced to a repair man. 
Few cars ever have been built that were subject to differential 
trouble traceable to faults in construction. From experience and 
observation I have learned that differentials rarely give trouble 
until for some cause they are taken down. This may be on ac¬ 
count of a broken axle, bevel pinion or ring gear. After the 
necessary repair is made and the differential assembled, then 
comes the “differential trouble.” 

This trouble shows up in various ways, such as harsh grinding 
of gears, heating, burning out thrust washers, breaking of dif¬ 
ferential gears, etc. And the trouble is more prevalent in split 
differential housings than in integral ones. 

One car particularly, I have in mind, gave lots of trouble. It 
would run a few days fairly quietly and then it would develop a 
very annoying growl and grate. I happened to be present in the 
garage while this differential was being assembled. The differen¬ 
tial with its protruding axles was laid on the floor. The two 
halves of the axle housing were slid over the axle ends and 
pushed up together where they were bolted. At my suggestion the 
workman took the housing off and one-half of the housing was 
placed in a vise which held it in a vertical position. The axle 
was slid down into it and the thrust washers were placed in their 
correct position before the differential was dropped in place. 
Then the other half of the housing was let down carefully and 
bolted to the first half. The thrust washers were fitted on pins. 
When the housing was shoved together while resting on the floor, 
the washers got out of place and made the differential bind. 

Some differentials cause trouble after the repair man has had 
them out, because he allows too much side play. The bevel 
pinion will be barely meshing with the ring gear one moment, 
and then it will be bottoming the next moment. 

Loose truss rods, lose differental housing bolts, running dif¬ 
ferent diameter tires on rear wheels, and towing other cars will 
cause differential trouble. 

Differentials, as the car builders turn them out, give very little 
trouble until they have been once taken out for repair or to get 
at some other part. Then if the man who does the work doesn’t 
understand his business, there is pretty apt to be a period of an¬ 
noying trouble for the car owner. The manufacturer usually 
has to take the blame. 


George S. Brown, Norwich, Conn. 


THE TRANSMISSION 


125 


Varying Troubles With Varying Axle Types 

My first case of transmission trouble was experienced with a 
car having a selective gear and a live axle. I was going along a 
smoothly paved street when I heard a slight click under, or to¬ 
wards the back of the car. This click occurred several times at 
intervals of a few seconds or so. Anticipating trouble of some 
sort was imminent, I directed the car into an alley and drew up 
to the curb. After looking around under the car and at all of 
the tires, I decided I must have been nervous and proceeded to 
get under way again. I went through the usual motions of 
throwing out clutch and dropping into low, but although the 
motor ran perfectly and the gears did not clash, the car moved 
not. 

I left the car and had it towed in. When I called for it the 
next day I found that a small key in the end of the drive shaft 
had worked out, allowing the shaft to turn in the beveled pinion. 
This, I was told, was an unusual case, but most cases of trouble 
are unusual, I find. 

With another car, having a floating axle, I was driving along 
a smooth pavement at moderate speed, when I heard a great 
racket under the car, as though the rear wheels had run over a 
number of loose planks in a bridge. Again I stopped, looked at 
all the wheels and under the car, but found absolutely not a 
thing wrong. This time I got in and drove away without appar¬ 
ent trouble on the part of the motor or signs of distress from 
the transmission. However, had only proceeded a block or so 
before the racket reoccurred, but knowing nothing better to do, 
continued at moderate speed to my garage, and the following 
day called the service station to attend the car, telling them of 
the peculiar noise about the rear. 

As soon as the service station notified me that the car was 
ready, I called to inquire what they had found the matter. ^The 
service manager took me back into the stock room and said, “You 
must have been in an awful hole to do this,” holding up for my 
inspection two axle rods that had been twisted off as you would 
twist a piece of taffy. I told him I had not been anywhere save 
between my residence and the city, over the route he had driven 
in getting my car. “Well,” he said, “in that case these axles must 
have been defective,” and I guess they were, because I never re¬ 
ceived any bill for the job, and that was the last I ever heard 
from the service station regarding the matter. 

However, I checked with some other owners of the same car 
and found that in a certain period there had been several cases 
of this same trouble. Evidently a number of axles had been 
made by mistake, from very soft material. No doubt, the twist¬ 
ing had taken place at different intervals, and the first evidence 


126 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


of the trouble was only the completion of the twisting off of the 
axle rods. The fractures were jagged ones, so that torque was 
transmitted to the wheels after the fractures were completed and 
the racket was caused by the ends slipping past each other. 

These two instances are about the only cases, of real trouble I 
have had, although I have had dry wheels and noisy gears, due 
to wear, and have also had trouble keeping grease inside the uni¬ 
versal joints. These troubles, I assume, are common and trivial. 
The unusual troubles are the ones that will get you if you don’t 
watch out, and I venture to say, you won’t know what to do 
when they occur. 


Louis R. Lee, Columbus, O. 


CHAPTER IX 

THE STEERING SYSTEM 


CARING FOR THE STEERING GEAR 


A SELF-LUBRICATING, automatically adjusted steering 
gear is apparently what a lot of motorists need. Of 
course, it would be very fine to realize such an ideal condi¬ 
tion, but it is not in the cards. The steering gear comes 
nearer to being standardized than any other part of the car 
that I can think of at the present time, barring none; also, it 
is simple in construction—too simple on some cars where all 
protection against mud has been omitted. With reasonable 
care the steering gear will outwear the other parts of the car. 

For the sake of your own safety and of those that ride with 
you the following conditions should be maintained: 

Front tires well inflated; 

Tight but well lubricated bearings and joints; 

Proper wheel alignment. 

Smooth tread and some designs of cord tires in front pro¬ 
mote easy guiding of the car. Of course, the tires should be 
of similar size and section and inflated to the same pressure. 

To locate loose connections or worn bearings jack up one 
wheel at a time, grasp the tire with both hands, work the 
wheel back and forth, noting the places in the steering gear 
where there is the most play. You may expect to find loose¬ 
ness in the bal land socket joints, on the tie rod, and also on 
the drag link between the steering arm and the knuckle 
joints. These ball and socket joints should be free to move, 
but it is not necessary that there should be any play in them. 
A little looseness in each joint will cause a lot of lost motion 
at the steering wheel. 

Also, take hold of the top and bottom of the tire and work 
the wheel in a vertical direction, looking for excessive move¬ 
ment in the wheel or knuckle bearing. A loose wheel bearing 
will cause excessive wear in the center of the tread of the tire 
on that wheel. 

With both wheels raised from the floor of the garage turn 
the steering wheel through its entire range and note whether 


127 


128 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


there are any tight spots. A tight spot may be caused by a 
poorly fitting bushing, a bent rod or steering column, or a 
lack of lubrication. Usually a tight spot in a used car indi¬ 
cates lack of lubrication, or the presence of mud or grit. 
There is a certain type of drop axle that is especially sus¬ 
ceptible to the presence of foreign matter in the knuckle 
bearings. I have had such a car and have found it necessary 
to get out on the road, jack up the front axle and work grease 
into the bearings before it was possible to proceed with any 
degree of satisfaction or safety. 

All of the ball and socket joints should be covered with 
well fitted leather covers and the joints kept filled with hard 
cup grease in warm weather, and a softer graphite grease in 
cold weather. At least every three months these leather 
covers should be removed and cleaned and also the joints, if 
there is any great amount of grit in evidence. 

The wheels must also be properly aligned to insure the 
car holding the road, also to prevent undue wear on the tires. 
With the wheels directed straight ahead the rims of the 
wheels should point in at the front and in at the ground line. 
If the alignment is out the tires will show excessive wear in 
the center of the tread. A bent cross rod, or pivot arm, is a 
frequent cause of misalignment and should be evident to any 
one who frequently inspects his car. 

The bushings and the bolt in the knuckle joints will have 
to be removed two or three times during the life of the car. 
There is also a great amount of shock and wear taken up in 
the steering arm, hence a new bushing will occasionally be 
required at this point. The essential thing to watch out for is 
lost motion—excessive wear in one or more parts will allow 
the wheels to jerk around on rough roads, throwing shocks 
and strains on the steering gear that are liable to cause a 
breakage of some part if the condition exists long enough. 

Much depends upon the condition of the steering gear. 
It is easy to get at and not difficult to inspect. If you keep 
the joints filled with grease there is less chance of the mud 
getting in and it is easier to keep the mud out in this way 
than it is to get it out after it has gotten in. 

Some cars are provided with roller or ball thrust bearings 
in the knuckle joints. I believe that this feature should be 
included on all cars. 

On many cars the provision for lubricating the knuckle 
bearings is inadequate. I do not subscribe to the popular 
idea that the grease cups are too numerous. In the first place, 


THE STEERING SYSTEM 


129 


grease is the only lubricant that will hold its own against 
slush and mud, and in the second place, grease can be forced 
into a bearing while oil must flow in—if it flows in freely it 
may also flow out. Self-lubricating bushings should give 
satisfaction on spring bolts, but I doubt their effectiveness on 
the steering gear. 

The three principal features are, therefore, plenty of lubri¬ 
cation, tight joints and proper alignment. Get your service 
station to check and adjust the alignment frequently. 

Louis R. Lee, Columbus, O. 

Yours for Safety 

The mechanism by which steering is effected is without a 
doubt among the most important features of a car, if not 
actually the most important. The truth of this statement 
will be realized when attention is called to the fact that safe 
steering is the final requisite that has made modern high 
speeds possible, for without safe and dependable steering 
gears no racing driver would dare to run a machine at a 
high rate of speed, knowing that at any minute the unsafe 
steering apparatus might shift the control, thus allowing the 
front wheels to waver and the car to run into some obstruc¬ 
tion by the roadside. 

The same argument applies in an even greater degree to 
the case of the non-professional driver, who wants to be on 
the safe side even more perhaps than do the daredevils who 
drive racing cars. Nearly all of our roads are curved, and 
to make all of these turns with safety the steering gear must 
be reliable. 

Again, in mountainous country where there may be a sheer 
drop at the roadside of hundreds of feet, it becomes neces¬ 
sary that the steering mechanism be very accurate and that 
it obey without delay the slightest move on the driver's part. 
To secure this there must be no lost motion or wear of the 
interrelated parts. These things mean that the whole steering 
mechanism must be safe and reliable; strong and accurate; 
well made and carefully fitted; well cared for and finally the 
design and construction must be based on a theoretically 
correct principle, for otherwise the mechanical refinements 
will have been wasted. When a new car leaves the manufac¬ 
turer the steering gear is packed with grease sufficient to care 
for from 3,000 to 4,000 miles of service. During this time the 
grease cups should be kept refilled and at the end of 3,000 
miles the worm and gear case should be refilled with a good 


130 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


grade of graphite grease and it is also advisable to add a 
small amount of cylinder oil as the grease may not work into 
all of the parts. Spark and throttle levers should have a few 
drops of oil every two or three weeks. The hub of the steer¬ 
ing wheel spider should likewise receive oil at the same time. 
If this is neglected there is a possibility of rust forming and 
absence of an oil cushion promotes the possibility of noise 
and unnecessary wear. In general, there are three ways in 
which wear is evidenced. The first is by up and down motion 
in the steering column, the second side-play in the worm 
gear and the third back-lash in the steering wheel. Before 
any adjustments are made it is advisable to see that the 
steering gear is at fault. This is not often the case. Back¬ 
lash frequently occurs in some part of the wheel gear linkage. 
When this is the case if the steering gear be tightened the 
parts may be pinched together, causing injury. In making 
steering wheel adjustment, therefore, it is advisable first, 
disconnect one end of the reach-rod so that the steering gear 
will be isolated and the adjustments made without inter¬ 
ference of other working parts. After this the front wheels 
may be jacked from the ground; the various ball and socket 
joints lubricated and adjusted and the wheels also. All ball 
and socket joints should be covered with leather boots and 
laced tight to keep the grease in and the dirt and grit out, to 
prevent unnecessary wear. In the case of a long period of 
service the worm and gear may wear to such an extent that 
there is a slight up and down motion in the steering column. 
This may be removed by tightening the large adjusting nut at 
the top of the thrust bearing directly over the worm. The 
adjusting nut is turned until the up and down motion is 
removed. It should not be tightened beyond the point where 
the last motion is removed, as to do so would pinch the 
bearing and increase the friction. After this adjustment is 
made adjusting nut should be locked to hold same in posi¬ 
tion. Side play in the worm gear is evidenced by lateral 
motion in the crossmember attached to the crank. This may 
be removed by taking up on the screw cover, screwing di¬ 
rectly into the inner side of the steering gear case. After a 
long period of service the worm gear threads may become 
worn to such an extent that there is play between the worm 
gear teeth and the threads of the worm. This is evidenced by 
lost motion at the crank. The remedy is to turn the worm 
gear until new teeth are brought into contact, and this is 
done in the following manner: First, loosen the clamp bolt 


THE STEERING SYSTEM 


131 


and remove the crank on the gear shaft; second, turn the 
gear one-quarter revolution; third, replace the crank and 
clamp it in place. By this a new quarter of the worn gear is 
brought into use and this adjustment can be repeated from 
time to time until four quarters have been brought into play. 
The amount of adjustment thus possible is usually more than 
equivalent to the life of the rest of the car. But, if all these 
adjustments fail to take out the lost motion the w'orn gear 
can be adjusted closer to the worm by means of the eccen¬ 
tric bushing carried on the shank of the worn gear. This 
bushing is loosened by means of a screw in the hub of the 
steering gear case. If this has been loosened the eccentric 
bushing can be turned by means of notches milled in its outer 
end. Due to the fact that the steering gear is commonly 
the first unit assembled to the frame in constructing a car 
it is not ordinarily readily removed. Most adjustments can 
be made without removal and it is not advisable to remove 
the assembly unless conditions make it absolutely necessary. 

Harry A. Derstine, Quakertown, Pa. 

Better Be Sure Than Sorry 

The different items in the steering mechanism which re¬ 
quire attention are as follows: 

1 . The steering wheel and post. The upper bearing of the 
steering post should receive a few drops of oil every thou¬ 
sand miles. The wheel should be kept tight on the tube or 
post at all times, and if of the tilting type all connections 
should be kept tight also. 

2 . The worm gear and ball arm need only occasional lubri¬ 
cation—a “shot” of grease from a grease gun about once every 
three months should be enough. The thrust bearings- above 
and below the worm must be kept tight and the eccentric 
bushings of the worm gear adjusted to keep the worm and 
gear in proper mesh and prevent back-lash. If the steering 
gear is of the full worm type the worm can be turned around 
a quarter circle on the ball arm when worn to such an extent 
that the eccentric bushing will not keep it in proper ad¬ 
justment. 

3 . The drag link, which is usually fitted with spring type 
ball sockets at either end, requires lubrication at these points 
only—grease or oil every 500 miles should be sufficient. The 
ball sockets must be kept tightly adjusted, but not too tight, 
as they may bind in some positions. 

On some cars it is a wise precaution to attach a stiff coil 


132 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


spring between the drag link and the car frame to prevent 
the former dropping in case the ball sockets become loose 
enough to work off the ball end of the steering arm. It is 
also advisable occasionally to check the drag link for bends 
or misplacement which might allow the steering ball arm 
to go past center, locking the wheels in ithe extreme right or 
left position. This, of course, could hardly happen at high 
speeds, but would be inconvenient, if not actually dangerous, 
even at.slow speeds. 

4 . The spindle tie-rod requires lubrication and adjustment 
only at the yokes or forks at either end, but should be 
checked occasionally for alignment. If bent it would throw 
the front wheels out of parallel and thus make steering diffi¬ 
cult besides causing rapid wear of the front tires. 

5 . The spindles or steering knuckles require lubrication 
every 500 miles, and should be kept tight enough to prevent 
lost motion, although there must be no hindrance to their 
turning freely. 

Sometimes it is possible by turning in the spindle stop 
screws (which prevent the wheels turning too far to either 
side) to shorten the car’s turning radius, making it much 
easier to handle in confined spaces. 

6 . The front wheels and their bearings—ordinarily it is 
only necessary to grease and adjust the front wheel bearings 
once or twice a season. 

If the hubs are fitted with small oil-holes, however, they 
should be given a few drops of oil at least once a week. The 
wheel alignment should be checked every month or two and 
corrected if necessary. 

Wheels seldom wabble of themselves, but if the demount¬ 
able rim and tire are not put on properly the tire will not run 
true. This will cause more or less erratic steering, to say 
nothing of rapid wear on the tire. It is not a very difficult 
matter to check over the different parts of the steering ap¬ 
paratus about once a month, and it is well worth while. As 
the old saying goes, “it is better to be sure than sorry.” 

E. M. F., Detroit, Mich. 


CHAPTER X 


THE REAR AXLE 

NOISES IN REAR AXLES 

• • 

XTOTHING gives one a worse impression of a car—and 
^ its driver—than to hear the rear assembly making a 
noise like a trolley car struggling under a heavy load. This 
disagreeable grinding sound is positive proof that lubrica¬ 
tion and the driver are not as yet acquainted. Once one is 
on speaking terms with the value of lubrication these un¬ 
welcome noises in the rear assembly vanish—that is, if one 
will use a little elbow grease. 

I have always held that the really efficient piece of ma¬ 
chinery is that which needs frequent adjustment and atten¬ 
tion. The rear assembly of the modern motor vehicle 
is just such a piece of mechanism. True, present day engi¬ 
neers have so constructed the rear axle, differential, etc. 
that we are spared the pleasure of “getting out and getting 
under,” but modern chemists have not been so successful in 
supplying us with an everlasting lubricant. Differential gears 
would last the life of a car were they not dependent upon 
the nature of the lubricant in which they bathe. But the best 
of oils and greases lose their efficiency in a comparatively 
short time, and unless the driver substitutes new oils, creaks, 
rumbles, and grinds are bound to assert themselves and play 
a conspicuous part. 

The oiling parts are comparatively accessible on most mod¬ 
ern machines. After the first plunge, being under the rear 
of a car is not so bad after all. Many of us prefer it to loung¬ 
ing in the driver’s seat—but not while the motor’s running. 

But all noises in the back of the car are not the result of 
lack of lubrication. Springs, if not attended to, can be a con¬ 
stant source of annoyance. I have in mind a case wherein 
the rear assembly made such a noise that a mechanic was on 
the point of taking down the parts and investigating. Finally 
the car was taken to the Service Station. Being familiar 
with the particular make of car the mechanic there merely 
sprayed a half gallon of kerosene on the front ends of the 
rear springs. Presto! the noise vanished. 



134 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Now the driver performs this little operation once a week. 
The forward ends of the rear sprirlgs on this particular 
make of car are so situated that the wheels splash a little 
water on them when the car is driven in wet weather. Rust 
and dirt cause the nut to grate against the bushing with 
the subsequent unpleasant sound, which in addition is greatly 
accentuated by the sounding-board qualities of the metal 
springs and frame. 

The source of a similar unpleasant and unaccountable noise 
was discovered to be merely the metal end of a strap tapping 
against a metal tire-carrier. Simple things—all of these! But 
so annoying! Brake rods, and their countershafts, may also 
be included among the mischief-makers. Many rattles are 
the direct result of side play in these shafts. Nuts and bolts 
are provided to take up this play. Again it is merely a matter 
of taking the plunge—and elbow grease. 

Brake bands on the majority of abused cars are frozen. 
Every time the pedal is pressed the entire brake assembly 
creaks. If the bands are covered with dirt—as thy usually 
are—'the first remedy is a good washing. After this the 
parts should be washed with kerosene. Finally all grease 
cups should be refilled and turned down, and the exposed 
joints on the bands given a few drops of engine oil. Again, 
Presto!—and noises vanish. 

I remember having made the remark to a friend who had 
had considerable experience with cars, “how do you know 
when there is anything wrong with your car?’' “Don’t 
worry,” was his reply, “you’ll know when there’s something 
wrong;. A car talks to you—actually talks to you. Every 
little squeak and knock is an S. O. S. call.” 

I understand what he meant now that I drive my own 
car. Every working part tells me when it needs attention. 
I always heed the S. O. S. because I believe that by taking 
care of the little things the big things will take care of them¬ 
selves. 

I do not doubt that the majority of the answers to this 
question will aim to explain noises in the rear axle con¬ 
struction along technical lines. This is not answering the 
question. When gears or shafts or axles are broken or out 
of adjustment cars do not run; consequently there is no noise 
in the rear axle. It is the cars that run but which make un¬ 
pleasant sounds that engage our attention. No part that is 
broken or completely out of adjustment can be said to be 
the cause ; it is only the ultimate result of some cause. And this 
cause, as I have endeavored to show, is in the majority of 


THE REAR AXLE 


135 


cases, lack of proper lubrication, loose nuts, or rust. Fre¬ 
quent applications of oil, wrenches, and kerosene will re¬ 
move all objectionable noises from the majority of running 
cars. Without this attention cars soon become “silent 
twelves”—in the repair shops. 

Frederick C. Russell, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Never Let the Rear End Noises Go 

There are many perplexing noises from time to time about 
the rear end of a car probably after it has been run some 
hundreds of miles. One should never let any internal noises 
go without immediate investigation, if not attended to they 
may develop into serious trouble and great expense. 

The most common noise is a grumble or groan not very 
loud, but most noticeable going around corners. Such a 
noise probably comes from the differential and it is a lack 
of lubricant. Naturally, this trouble may be remedied by 
replenishing the supply of lubricant. 

Another noise is a grumble or groan similiar to the firsL 
but much louder and more distinct. The cause of this noise 
is worn gears. It may be quieted a little by keeping the dif¬ 
ferential case full of a good grade of heavy fibre grease. 

The most serious noise is a knock heard at irregular in¬ 
tervals. The cause of this noise is that one or more chips 
broken from the gears have become mixed in the grease and 
churned in between the cogs of the gears. The reason that 
this is so serious is that every time a chip gets caught in be¬ 
tween the cogs it tends to break them off and make more 
chips. To detect this trouble certainly, jack up both the 
wheels and spin either of them, listening carefully for the un¬ 
welcome knock. To remedy this the lubricant should be 
removed and the housing thoroughly washed out with kero¬ 
sene causing the chips to fall to the bottom of the casing. 
Sometimes these chips get caught in between the cogs and 
refuse to be dislodged with just kerosene. If this happens 
they should be removed with a hammer and cold chisel. 
After all the chips are out one should file (with a very hard 
file) all the rough and sharp spots on the gears making them 
smooth. This may prevent further trouble from leaking. 
By jacking up the wheels, spinning them by hand and listen¬ 
ing carefully, making due allowance for the absence of lubri¬ 
cant, one can ascertain if all chips have been dislodged from 
the gears. When satisfied that all undesirable matter has 
been dislodged and washed to the bottom of the housing, 


136 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


remove all such material. (The method used for this re¬ 
moval will depend upon the type of housing.) The lubricant 
may now be safely replaced. 

If frequent trouble is experienced from the breaking of 
cogs, it may be wise to make the following change. Drill , 
two holes one-quarter inch in diameter, about a foot from 
each wheel, in the under side of the rear axle housing. Take 
out the old grease and fill the differential case with heavy 
oil (gear box oil). If now any chips are broken off they 
will fall to the bottom of the case and not become a menace 
to the gears. The holes in the axle housing will prevent 
the oil from running out on the wheels and internal brake 
bands, if such exists, and the loss of oil will be found hardly 
noticeable. After every five thousand miles of travel, the 
oil should be drained off and replaced with fresh lubricant. 

A very disagreeable noise is produced in wooden wheels 
when the spokes become loose from shrinking or other 
causes. This may be overcome by careful wedging or swell¬ 
ing, but it is best to have a wheelwright to attend to the 
trouble to insure a first class job. 

Where the transverse rear spring as in the Ford car is 
fastened to the frame it may become loose and make a 
crunching sound. This may be remedied by tightening the 
nuts Which connect the spring to the frame. 

Kenneth M. Eden, East Orange, N. J. 

Brakes, Gears and Rims 

Eliminate the noise from the rear axle assembly and you 
will go a long way towards making your car a quiet run¬ 
ning one. 

There are three general causes for noise in and about the 
rear axle: 

1 st. The brakes. 

2 nd. The gears. 

3 rd. The rims. 

First the brakes (consisting of the bands, levers and pull 
rods, all assembled and held together by small pins or 
bolts) and springs receive very hard usage. Exposed to 
mud and dust, seldom lubricated, adjusted only when they 
fail to work, it is small wonder the average brake is a noise 
Producer. The brake band should just free the drum when 
in release position; if it does more than this it will have a 
tendency to flop around. When new, with all the pins 
tight, a loose band may not be objectionable, but as the 


THE REAR AXLE 


137 


pins become worn the band must be fairly snug to prevent 
excessive movement on rough streets. The pull rods are 
often provided with forked ends; by taking the rod off and 
bending the forks together so that they will grip the levers 
to which they u~re attached a great deal of loose motion will 
be prevented. , 

Often it will be necessary to renew the springs at the back 
of the brake bands as the old springs become broken or 
lose tension. 

A squeaking brake is caused by the lining becoming worn 
down so that the rivet heads come in contact with the brake 
drums. The remedy is new linings or a removal of some of 
the rivet heads. 

Second—the gears will be noisy if insufficiently lubricated 
or if worn so that there is a grinding action between the 
teeth. A thick oil should be used on the gears, but in cold 
weather a thin oil may be required. Regular inspection at 
least once a month should be made to see that the oil is not 
leaking out of the axle housing. After the gears become 
worn, either through long use or lack of lubrication, the 
only remedy is a new pinion and ring gear. Once in a great 
while there is a type of ring gear that becomes loose on the 
spider and if taken in time it can be tightened up and a 
new gear will not be required. 

Third—a good many don’t recognize a rim squeak as it 
often sounds like a wheel with loose spokes. Remove the 
rim and look for bright spots where the rim makes contact 
with the wheel. Take a little graphite grease and smear 
over all bright spots and all over points of contact. This 
treatment may be required once every thousand miles, or 
at least as often as a tire is changed. 

No reference has been made to noisy wheel bearings as 
noise from this source is usually very pronounced if present. 
The wheel bearings will only be noisy when broken or dry. 
They should be lubricated twice a year and thoroughly 
cleaned each time. Provision is usually made for taking up 
wear, but there should be just a little play in the bearing 
when it is properly adjusted. A soft graphite grease should 
be used in liberal quantity. Excess grease that works out 
may be easily cleaned off, but if no grease works out you can¬ 
not be sure that no dirt is working in. 

Loose clips on the springs may cause a jingling noise. 
The secret of locating noises is to locate and eliminate each 
one as it first occurs. With a half dozen or more noises 
present the expert will have trouble in finding them all and 


138 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


may recommend repairs that are unnecessary and leave the 
most important repairs undone. 

Louis R. Lee, Columbus, O. 


Pride, Patience and Perseverance 

As a general rule there is apt to be more noise about the 
rear axle of a car than there is in the axle. Of the two, the 
former makes the most racket and is usually easier to correct, 
while the latter is the more serious. 

In a new car, due to the oversight of the inspector, the 
pinion and bevel gear are likely to be set either a little too 
close or too far apart. This will give rise to a hum¬ 
ming which increases and decreases in intensity and pitch 
with the speed of the car. There is no sure way of telling 
just which is responsible for the trouble, although the' play 
between the gears is an .indication. The setting of these 
gears is a cut and dried proposition. As a general rule 
the outer edges of the teeth of pinion and gear should be 
in line and if they can be seen it will help in the adjustment. 
It will tell whether all the adjustments can be made on the 
bevel gear or whether some must be made on the pinion. 
This trouble should be taken care of immediately for if it 
is not done the gears will wear slightly in their incorrect 
position and then no amount of adjusting will stop the noise. 
It may not be possible to stop all the noise, but the position 
of quietest operation should be selected. As the gears wear 
into each other the noise will probably decrease. 

The better grade of cars are provided with two thrust 
bearings on the axle, one on each side of the differential, 
and one on the drive shaft. Adjustment is usually made on 
the bevel gear, both thrusts being moved. Care should be 
taken that there is neither too much nor too little play be¬ 
tween these thrusts. Do not mesh the gears too deeply as 
damage can be done in a very short time. Other cars have 
only one adjustment and some depend upon flat thrust 
washers. With the latter the washers must be of the proper 
thickness or liners placed under them. If not corrected, 
gears will be stripped in time. 

If the car has been run any distance it will be well to 
examine the thrust and radial bearings on the drive shaft 
as well as on the axle. A large radial bearing on the axle 
allows the bevel gear to move sideways away from the pinion 
while a worn radial bearing on the drive shaft produces the 
same effect as moving the bevel gear horizontally away from 


THE REAR AXLE 


139 


the pinion. There is the added difference that the worn radial 
bearings allow considerable chattering, causing an irregu¬ 
larity about 'the hum. 

Perhaps you unfortunately have stripped some of the 
teeth from your pinion and after having a new one installed 
have wondered how the hornest’s nest got into your rear 
axle. A new gear will rarely work into an old one without 
considerable noise and if you have that trouble the only way 
to correct it is to get a new mating gear to the one you just 
put in. 

Worn bearings or gears in the differential will cause a 
hum or groan when going around curves or corners. These 
gears turn so seldom that it is rare that one discovers any 
noise from them. 

At times when going down grade with your engine just 
about keeping pace with the car you are puzzled by the 
surging which appears to take place, frequently jerking the 
car uncomfortably. If you have this trouble put your trans¬ 
mission into high, jack up one rear wheel and see how much 
you can turn it before it takes hold of the engine. This shows 
you the accumulated wear or play between the wheels and 
engine. It may be well distributed or most of it may be 
found in any one of the following places; key of the wheels, 
keys in the differential, worn bearing on the inner end of 
the axle or on the differential if full floating, worn gears or 
bearings in the differential, too much play between the bevel 
gear and pinion, due to wear or other causes, worn bearings 
or gears on the drive shaft, worn universal^, worn bearings 
or gears in the gear set. Check them up and eliminate them 
one by one till you know the wear is taken up. 

Outside the rear axle most of the racket is caused by 
vibration and the cure is always the same, tighten up. The 
source is usually found easily with the assistance of a friend 
having a good ear. Brake shoes, brake rods, torque rods, 
or radius rods are all frequent offenders. If a brake shoe 
happens to be dragging and no amount of adjustment will 
clear it, a small auxiliary coil spring can frequently be used 
to keep it from touching the drum. 

A noise in the transmission of a car can many times be 
traced to the rear axle, having been transmitted to the gear 
set through the propeller shaft. 

The three P’s (pride, patience and perseverance) will en¬ 
able almost everyone to have a quiet, sweet-running car, 
particularly as far as the rear axle is concerned. 

H. A. Holmes, Youngstown, O. 


140 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Look After Motor, Clutch and Transmission 

In correcting a noise in or about the rear axle, the first 
thing to do is to make reasonably sure of its location. In¬ 
spect externals that may be loose, worn or out of adjust¬ 
ment, tightening wheel or axle shaft nuts, torque members, 
body bolts, fenders and spring clips and shackles. Lubricate 
thoroughly every oil or grease cup on the axle, brakes, and 
springs, and see that there is ample lubricant in the differ¬ 
ential, universal joints, and transmission. It is worth while 
to jack up both rear wheels using an extra jack or block. 
Any side-play evident in a wheel would account for a knock¬ 
ing sound in driving over a rough stretch. The cause of the 
side-play will be found in a loose or worn shaft-key for the 
wheel of a semi-floating axle, in worn wheel or differential 
bearings or washers or in a bent shaft. The remedy for the 
worn key is replacement. Adjustable bearings and washers 
may be readily restored to a normal position; but, if not 
adjustable, they should be replaced. Unless he has good tools 
and practical mechanical ability, the average motorist had 
better leave bearing adjustment or replacement to the service 
station. A bent shaft is easy to replace on a full floating axle, 
but in other types considerable dismantling is necessary. 
If the rear axle housing has been sprung, it had better be 
replaced to prevent injury to the new shaft and other parts. 

While the car is still jacked up, it may well be run a little 
at rather slow speed, but in high gear. If one rear wheel 
is held, the opposite wheel should speed up at once if the 
differential is working all right. If it fail to do so and there 
is a knocking or grinding noise from the middle of the hous¬ 
ing the small differential gears or their studs are loose or 
worn, and the entire ring gear housing must be removed to 
replace them. 

If one wheel is let down, with a block placed in front of it, 
the other may safely be spun at twenty to thiry miles an 
hour for a few minutes while one listens “at close range” 
for unusual sounds. The sense of touch will aid also, for 
it is often possible to feel heat produced by excessive friction 
coming up through the housing. This is a helpful method 
when the transmission is located just ahead of the rear 
axle, for some of the general noises of these two elements are 
so similar that they are almost indistinguishable from the 
driver’s seat. 

The test for noise should include a rather extensive run 
on the road. At a good speed, with the tonneau flooring 


THE REAR AXLE 


141 


removed, if the motor is shut off and the clutch disengaged 
occasionally, rear axle noises will he comparatively segre¬ 
gated and more easily identified. 

A slight, steady hum from rear axle gears is inevitable. 
A steady growl of unusual volume indicates that the drive- 
shaft pinion gear is meshing too deeply with the large bevel 
or ring gear, generally due to the former having slipped 
down or back. On many cars there is a slotted adjusting 
ring at the pinion gear for moving it back and forth. Some 
cars have a similar adjusting ring on each side of the ring 
gear for setting it slightly to the left or right. On cars lack¬ 
ing this adjustment, it may be found that a thrust washer 
has worn so thin that it needs replacement. 

An irregular growl, varying with great frequency at uni¬ 
form car speed, indicates that the pinion is probably badly 
worn on a few teeth, while the same faults in a ring gear 
are revealed by corresponding symptoms, generally occurring 
but once every revolution of the rear wheels. If an irregular 
growl persists with load and thrust bearings and washers 
O. K., the ring gear assembly should be removed from the 
axle and examined for wear, alignment, and loose rivets. 
An out-of-round ring gear or housing should be replaced with 
a new one. Loose rivets should be knocked out and new 
ones swedged in while red hot, which is generally a service 
station job. 

A steady knocking or rattling sound generally results from 
pinion and ring gears not meshing deeply enough. The rem¬ 
edy is effected by reversing the method of curing the deep- 
mesh growl. 

The loudest and most grinding noise that comes from a 
rear axle is a sign of a chipped or broken ring or pinion gear. 
The gear should be replaced as soon as possible. 

One of the most disturbing noises about a rear axle is a 
chronic brake squeak, which, in many instances, is caused 
by rough or cracked lining and may be cured by a slight and 
uniform application of castor or neatsfoot oil or French chalk 
around the lining. 

Careful driving and proper maintenance of motor, clutch, 
and transmission units have a direct bearing in minimizing 
rear axle noise. 


Donald McClean, Detroit, Mich. 


CHAPTER XI 

WHEELS AND TIRES 


ALIGNING THE WHEELS 


A SIMPLE and practical way of lining up the four wheels 
of an automobile is as follows: 

Procure four, or preferably six small wooden horses, or boxes, 
slightly lower than the underside of the wheel hubs, and two 
straight-edged planks, planed also on one side and long enough 
to reach from just ahead of the front wheels to a foot or so 
back of the rear wheels. 

Have your car placed on a level floor, and test each wheel 
to see that it runs true. The front wheels may be spun, and 
a test gauge held by hand not quite touching the rim while they 
are revolving. Any twist in the wheel will show to the eye. In 
the case of the rear wheels the gauge should be supported firmly. 
A small pointer of wood, projecting from one end of the boxes or 
horses, at the proper height, can be moved up close to the rim 
of the wheel. As the wheel is turned, any untrue running 
will show by the change in the gap at the pointer. 

After ascertaining that the wheels run true place a plank 
on each side of the car suppported on the horses or boxes, so 
that the upper surface is slightly below the under sides of the 
wheel hubs. Have the planed surfaces up, and the straight 
edges nearest the car, and at least an inch distant from the 
tires. If running-boards or other things interfere, the planks 
may be placed higher, lower or farther away, but the position 
as given above will be found most convenient in the majority 
of cases. True these planks up so that hey are parallel to 
each other and to the center line of the car, and equally dis¬ 
tant from that line. The center line of the car can be lo¬ 
cated by bisecting the front and rear frame cross members; 
and measuring from the bisections, as indicated by chalk 
marks, at the boards, will locate them parallel and equidistant. 

Just back of the rear wheels strike a true angle cross-line 
from one plank to the other, using a square and a cord to 
sight across, marking plainly where this line crosses the 
“straight edge” of each plank. Call this the base line. From 
the center of each rear wheel hub, drop a line to the plank, 
either by plumb or square, and project it to the straight edge! 
These points should be the same distance from the base line. 


142 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


143 


one on each side of the car. If they are not, the difference 
in measurements will readily show which way the axle is out 
of line, and the cause of the trouble must be discovered and 
corrected. Before getting similar measurements for the front 
axle care must be taken to see that the front wheels are paral¬ 
lel to each other; this may be determined by measuring the 
distances from the straight edge to points on the rims oi 
felloes of the front wheels, ahead of the hub, then from the 
corresponding points back of the hubs. These measurements 
will be found to be the same if the wheel is parallel with the 
fore and aft line of the car; and when both measure true to 
their respective edges they are, of course, parallel to each 
other. The camber of the front wheels will not affect the 
above measurements in any way, provided the planks are laid 
level with the floor. 

Corresponding points on each front wheel, as near the cen¬ 
ter of the stub axle pivot as is possible to measure, are equally 
distant from their respective straight edges, it follows that 
they are equally distant from the center line. If, when the 
front wheels are parallel to the center line and equidistant 
from it, the centers of their hubs are equally distant from the 
centers of the rear hubs, already determined to be at right 
angles to the fore and aft line, we have the wheels of the car 
“four square.” Henry Moore, New York City. 

Paralleling the Wheels 

One of the most effective ways to line up and test the align¬ 
ment of the four wheels is to stretch two parallel lines, one 
along each side of the car, equally distant from the wheels, 
say one inch from the rims. This is readily done as follows .* 

Take two pine strips about i in. x 2 in. x 5 ft. 6 in., lay them 
on their edges, side by side, hold them firmly together, and 
saw about half way through near each end of each piece, with 
a fine saw (first squaring across with a square), making the 
distance about 5 ft. i l / 2 in. between the cuts; now place one 
of the strips across the front wheels and the other across the 
rear wheels, and draw the lines (thin twine or fishing line 
answers the purpose well) through the saw cuts, wrapping the 
ends around the strips a couple of times to hold them. There 
should be tension enough on the lines so that the pressure of 
the strips against the tires will hold them there without sup¬ 
ports under them, yef not so tight but that they can be shifted 


•Before taking measurements as above indicated by Mr. Riley the dis¬ 
tances between the boards measured longitudinally of the car on each side 
should be made to agree, since if they do not, either one or the other of 
the axles is out of “square" with the center line of the frame. 



144 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


a little, if necessary, to bring the lines the proper distance 
from the wheels. Run the lines just above the hubs and as 
near to them as possible without touching; if the running- 
boards and mud-guards interfere with the lines above the 
hubs, then run them just below the hubs. 

After the lines are placed as above, measure from the lines 
to opposite sides of the rim of each wheel, as indicated by let¬ 
ters A, B, C and D in the sketches. Any variation between 
the distances A and B or C and D will indicate the extent 
the wheels are out. 

Instead of using the saw cuts to make openings through the 
strips for the lines, holes can be bored with a small drill or 
gimlet, but I consider the saw cuts better. 

J. T. Riley, Philadelphia, Pa. 


STRETCHING THE TIRE MILEAGE 

I F the casing is old and has suffered several blowouts and the 
thread worn through, a lower inflation pressure would be 
advisable, but they should be kept pretty hard, as there is 
less danger in overinflation than underinflation. Don’t guess 
at inflation. A tire pump right on the car will pay for itself 
in no time by increased time miles, and if one cannot afford 
the power driven kind the next best is one that clamps to 
the running board and operates with but little exertion. 

With care it is possible to obtain eight, fifteen and even 
twenty thousand miles from a standard casing. A common 
source of abuse lies in running in car tracks, and under these 
conditions a terrific strain is thrown on the sidewall, while 
bits of steel are imbedded in the tread. Track frogs are very 
sharp and help to steal mileage. 

We all realize what happens to a pair of rubbers or over¬ 
shoes that are just a trifle smaller than the shoes. The sides 
of them turn over, allowing them to come in contact with the 
ground. The excessive wear causes them to break down and 
cracks soon develop before the soles themselves begin to 
wear. This is what happens to a tire when driven on the 
rails. 

Driving on an underinflated casing, the increased action of 
the side walls softens the rubber cement between the fabric 
layers and a certain amount of devulcanization takes place. 
Under these conditions when a sharp object is struck a blow¬ 
out results. 

Inside patches put in as a result of a blowout should never 



WHEELS AND TIRES 


145 


be left in for any length of time, as these are only emergency 
repairs. Remove them and vulcanize the blown section. 

This patch acts like a piece of foreign matter between tire 
and tube, and is always chafing and producing friction and 
also throws the tire out of balance. 

A neglected cut becomes a blowout. A leaking valve pro¬ 
duces a flat tire. 

The rims should be clean and perfect. The proper style 
tire for rim and the proper size for car is of the highest im¬ 
portance. Tires carrying heavier loads than those for which 
they were designed may develop breaking at the beads where 
engaged by clinches of rims. 

Start and stop gradually, turn corners slowly and keep the 
garage floor free from oil, grease or gasoline. In case the 
car is not to be used for some time the car weight should be 
removed either by the use of wood blocks or by jacks made 
specially for this purpose that fit under the outside hub of 
each wheel. 

Tighten wheel bearings to prevent their wobbling, also 
determine wheel alignment occasionally. Daily inspection for 
tread injuries, a liberal treatment of cuts of all sizes, which 
is done with tire dough put in at night and allowed to stand 
until morning. 

Don’t use tires on a real car that ought to be giving service 
on a vehicle such as a cycle car. One may use almost any 
oversize tire without the necessity of changing his rim 
equipment, providing the same type of bead is used as was 
originally employed. 

Remember that rubber lives on air the same as humans, 
and given plenty of the pure kind without too much light and 
sunshine is a secret of long tire life. All that is necessary 
to remember about inflation pressures is that every inch of 
tire width requires twenty pounds of pure air. A six-inch 
tire requires 120 pounds, and a three-inch half as much. Half 
of the troubles come from neglecting to supply the twenty. 
Watch the tire gauge and take nothing for granted. 

Use great caution not to skid—a bruise in the tread rubber 
makes a dead spot. 

Shift the tires around to the different wheels, reversing 
them as to sides they were on originally. The strain on each 
wheel is different and for this reason a change is beneficial, 
because a constant strain of one kind is weakening. It is to 
be remembered that the front wheels are “toed in” and the 
wear does not come squarely in the center of the tire tread. 


146 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


A thirty-six-inch tire will toe in about one inch. Needless 
to say the brakes should be used gently and equalized 
properly. R. L. Brindle, North Abington, Mass. 

The Re-Treading Process 

Faced with a shortage of tires, and with still higher prices 
in prospect, the question of obtaining increased mileage is 
becoming more commo nevery day. Tires that heretofore 
were thrown aside upon the first appearance of a weak spot 
can be made to give from one to several thousand miles addi¬ 
tional service at but little comparative additional cost. 

Of the many tire saving devices on the market today the 
most successful one coming within my experience provides a 
new tread complete for an old casing. After the original 
tread has been worn down to the fabric the remaining tread 
is buffed off and an entirely new tread, built on the same lines 
as that of a new tire, is cemented to the old tire carcass, thus 
giving to all intents a new tire. Casings re-treaded in this 
manner are the equal, if not better, than the factory job, 
having a factory guarantee of 3,500 miles. I have secured as 
high as 5,000 additional miles on a retreaded casing, in one 
instance the mileage secured being greater than that obtained 
from the original casing. To secure satisfactory results the 
casing must be in good condition, free from large cuts, weak 
spots or stone bruises. These treads cost less than half as 
much as a new tire, thus making a worth while saving. 

For inexpensive tire saving equipment I have used nothing 
better than a good tire reliner. I have found the most satis¬ 
factory type to be those using three to four-ply rubberized 
tire fabric coated with a self-vulcanizing cement, which in 
the course of a few miles becomes a permanent part of the 
tire. The addition of a reliner will so strengthen the tire 
carcass that often 1,500 miles additional service can be secured 
from a casing that was .previously unfit for use. For the 
average tire such a reliner costs about $4.00 and can be used 
over and over again. 

Much attention has been given in recent years to devise a 
satisfactory substitute for air, and this eliminates many of the 
troubles inherent in the pneumatic tire. So far nothing has 
been found possessing the cushioning qualities of air. No 
doubt a tire filled with a substitute will give greater tire 
mileage, but this can only be at the sacrifice of comfort and 
speed. For the strictly utilitarian vehicle such a tire filler 
should prove advantageous. 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


147 


After all the maximum tire mileage is only obtained by the 
careful motorist, the one who drives carefully and takes as 
much interest in looking after the tire equipment as the other 
parts of the car. The frequent use of the vulcanizer will keep 
tires in good condition long after they would have ordinarily 
worn out and places a tire in fit condition for the use of 
many desirable tire saving devices. 

“N. A. S.,” Cumberland, Md. 

The Value of Re-Inforcement 

Worn and damaged tires, in the experience of the writer, 
make excellent protectors for new tires and with their use 
the new casings can be made to double or even triple their 
guaranteed mileage. This statement is not alone attested by 
my personal experience, but thousands of motorists are using 
their old tires for this purpose and securing the same results. 

The manner of applying the old casings over the new is 
simple. The beads of the old tire are cut off by shears or a 
sharp knife. This leaves the casing pliable and easily placed 
over the new tire. If the old tire, or protector, as it might 
be called, does not go over easily, use the tire iron to help it 
over, but as casing stretches considerably with usage it 
generally is no trouble. 

This is done, before the tire is placed on the rim and in¬ 
flated, and it is the inflation that holds it in place, while in 
use on the road. 

The driver using reinforced tires as described is rarely 
inconvenienced by tacks, small nails, glass or other obstacles 
which commonly cause punctures. He can drive over broken 
stone, a lot more contentedly, and the short time required to 
fit these protectors is repaid many times by the service that 
they give. 

Some owners may argue that the additional thickness would 
cause considerable frictionand heat up the casing; it might 
if the car were driven at an exceptionally high speed, but the 
man who wants the best milage from his tires is the one who 
will-not open up and drive like wild. 

I have tried using reliners on several occasions, but have 
not secured satisfactory results by any means. 

If the smallest kind of a nail hole were anywhere in the 
casing, it was only a matter of a few hundred miles running 
before the reliner shoved through and put the casing beyond 
repair. The cause of this is plain when we consider the con¬ 
ditions: with a reliner in place the tire rolls, and when the 


148 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


hole goes down on the road the tire deflects; this opens it up 
on the inside, the reliner having the pressure of the tube on 
the inside seeks to get out of the hole as the tire rolls up and 
over it chafes. This occurs at each revolution of the wheel 
and it is slowly but surely opening more and more each time. 
If a casing is serviceable it is better to have the hole vul¬ 
canized or a section put in; if its condition does not warrant 
repairing it, then put your repair money into a new casing 
and use the old one as a protector. 

Geo. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 

Systematic Care Wins 

The best time to start tire conservation is when a tire is 
new; but, no matter what good care a tire may have received, 
there comes a day when the irregularities of road, weather 
and service leave their marks on it. The motorist who studies 
these signs of wear will find a number of conditions which he 
should immediately treat or correct, or let a competent tire 
man do the work, if he wishes to get the last mile out of 
each tire. 

It is well to care for the simple and obvious tasks first, 
such as jacking up and thoroughly cleaning the tire and 
giving it a close inspection. Practically all cars have the 
same size tires front and rear now, so, after about 3,000 to 
4,000 miles, it is advisable to change the tires around, ex¬ 
changing the more worn rear tires with those on the front 
wheels, and the more worn right wheel ones with those on 
the left. 

There is a rather common idea that, as a tire grows old, it 
should receive less than the prescribed inflation pressure that 
it took when new. It should not be forgotten that it is heat, 
from friction on the road, that passes to the inner tube, caus¬ 
ing severe expansion at its weakest point and eventually 
bringing on a blowout, which is the worst accident that can 
befall an old tire, and generally the last. Therefore, unless 
the inner tube has been extremely patched or vulcanizd or 
shows many fine surface cracks, the old tire deserves' the 
same pressure it had when new. With normal pressure, there 
is less tread exposed to the road, of course, less chance of 
puncture and less strain on cuts or blisters around the tread 
or the side walls. 

When running on old tires, it is best to favor them all 
that one can in driving by taking bad ruts or bumps very 
slowly and making starts, stops and turns gradually. 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


149 


For old tubes, I always carry an extra valve or two and 
several patches in the kit, while one or two inside and outside 
blowout patches give a feeling of security with casings that 
are ‘‘nearly gone.” A little cement and dough are helpful 
for “doctoring” cuts in old casings. If a preparation of the 
white or grey paint recommended by tire makers is applied 
to worn casings occasionally, it tends to protect the resiliency 
and strength of the treads, besides concealing their age. 

If an owner has the time and inclination, he may get good 
results from the use of a vulcanizing outfit. There has been 
considerable improvement in small vulcanizers lately. Heat 
regulation has been made easier and more positive, and hold¬ 
ing clamps and molds have been improved. 

Donald McClean, Detroit, Mich. 

A Stitch in Time 

No other one item in the upkeep of the motor car is so 
expensive as tires. Since this is true, the motorist should give 
extra consideration to the purchase and repair of tires. 

Let us start from the first and consider the repair of dam¬ 
ages in the order that they are apt to come to new tires. First 
in order comes punctures, as tires in good or bad condition 
are always liable to be purtctured. I have tried many so-called 
“puncture cures” and various patches, but have found that 
rubber back self-vulcanizing patches and small vulcanizers 
using prepared patches and fuel are the most satisfactory for 
ordinary punctures. 

Small cuts in the tread are apt to be bothersome, for, unless 
they are closed, water and dirt work through them to the 
fabric. Soon the fabric and the tread separate and sand 
blisters and blowouts are the result. Small cuts may be 
filled with cut filler, but larger holes should be vulcanized. 
If you have plenty of time and a desire to make repairs your- 
self*a small portable vulcanizer is very satisfactory and will 
soon pay for itself out of the saving in the rapirman’s bill. 

Unless you have taken care of the cuts as stated in the 
preceding paragraph, blowouts are next apt to trouble ’you. 
A temporary repair can be made by inserting a blowout patch 
and new tube in the casing. Upon return home the casing 
should be immediately repaired by a competent repairman. 

There are many methods backed by overdrawn claims for 
putting a new wearing surface on a casing after the original 
tread has worn off. I have tried several; a rim cut casing 
simply slipped on over the worn casing. This method did 


150 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


not prove satisfactory, for, upon turning corners and driving 
over rough roads, the over-casing would slip sideways and 
work loose. Another method is to have an old casing sewed 
or riveted on over the worn casing. This, too, proved un- 
satisfactotiry, for the rivets or sewing soon broke or tore 
through and left the over-casing loose. 

But after all this experimenting I at last found a process 
that has proved entirely satisfactory to me. By this method 
a complete new tread is vulcanized onto the old fabric. The 
expense to have a tire retreaded by this method is about one- 
half the price of a new tire, and gives about two-thirds the 
service. 

Although I am a strong believer in repairing tires when 
they are damaged, I also think that there is a great deal of 
truth in the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a 
pound of cure.” Buy the very best quality tires that you can 
from a reliable maker who puts his name and trademark 
on his product, keep them properly inflated, drive carefully, 
keep the wheels properly aligned and you will get many miles 
of service before it is necessary to see the repairman. 


Ben H. Parker, Oklahoma City, Okla. 


CARING FOR TIRES 


HE following few simple rules have been responsible for 



-*■ giving an average of 6,000 miles to a shoe on a medium 
weight 30-horsepower car fitted with 34 by 3^-inch tires, but 
the procedure is the same on any machine having all four tires 
of the same size, and will give equally good results, conditioned 
upon the faithfulness with which the rules themselves are 
observed. 

Always put a new shoe on the rear. That’s advice of the sort 
that’s not apt to be followed where two tires have to be pumped 
by hand, so get a power pump or an air bottle. A pump also 
makes it easy to follow that stock piece of advice that is in¬ 
variably handed out right and left, whenever tires are men¬ 
tioned—keep your tires properly inflated. The motorist who 
isn’t sufficiently interested to keep the pressure up when the 
motor will do the work for him isn’t looking for advice as to 
how to get the greatest mileage out of his tires. But just be¬ 
cause you have a power pump don’t abuse it’s willingness— 
don’t pump your tires too hard. Keep them io to 15 pounds 
lower in summer than in winter, and as a shoe gets old main¬ 
tain the pressure at a lower figure than when new. Don’t 



WHEELS AND TIRES 


151 


be surprised when you pump a tire up to the maximum per¬ 
missible pressure in the cool of the evening or night, if it 
blows out after a hard ride the next day, particularly if the 
next day be a summer scorcher. 

After a shoe has run 3,000 to 3,500 miles on the rear, trans¬ 
fer it to the front, and it’s a good idea if the tire is badly worn 
to put a reliner or other reinforcement round the tube when 
making the transfer. Before applying the old shoe to a front 
wheel, examine its interior very carefully for breaks and rough 
spots. It will be nothing unusual to find that it has been cut 
through in one or two places, though the openings will be small. 
Mend these breaks by vulcanizing two or three piles of rubber- 
coated fabric, cut bias and placed diagonally across the open¬ 
ing inside, and at the same time cleaning out the cut in the 
tread and vulcanizing it. 

Buy a small vulcanizer —and use it. An hour or so once a 
week will be sufficient to vulcanize the bad cuts in the tread that 
go through to the fabric—even the most innocent-appearing 
wounds often do that, and if neglected they cause the “sand 
blisters” that soon appear anywhere from two or three to 
ten or twlve inches away. This means that sand and water 
have been forced that distance between the fabric and the 
rubber, stripping the latter from its foundation. The fabric 
is the life of the tire, but its existence will be greatly short¬ 
ened if deprived of the protection afforded by the rubber 
tread. Keeping all cuts sealed up by vulcanizing new rubber 
in them as fast as they appear maintains a waterproof cov¬ 
ering over the fabric. Water and the grit forced in with it 
is the greatest enemy of the canvas. Use plenty of soap¬ 
stone or talc when inserting a tube and inflate the latter 
slightly before inserting in the shoe—just enough so thalt 
it rounds out into place without any kinks. Supplement the 
above by keeping all four wheels on the ground when rounding 
sharp corners and tires will not be half the trouble they are 
commonly reputed to be, while the demands on the pocketbook 
vill be considerably eased. Speed is an important influence in 
tire wear, of course, but the record mentioned has been made 
at constant average speeds of 25 to 30 miles an hour, which 
is as fast as car can be run economically; likewise as fast as 
any sensible motorist should drive. 

Richard Wright, New York. 

Pressure, Comfort and Economy 

The relation of tire pressure to ease of riding and tire life 
is not necessarily a matter of the car driver’s love of luxury 
or the condition, of his pocketbook. In stating what may 


152 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


seem to be excessive tire pressures to which we should ad¬ 
here, the tire manufacturers have taken into consideration 
the tendency of car owners to overload their tires by the use 
of heavier bodies, quantities of luggage and attachments that 
add considerably to the total weight to be carried. The effect 
of tire inflation on a tire is not so much a matter of actual 
pounds pressure that it contains, regardless of its load, as it 
is a question of sufficient pressure to retain the general curva¬ 
ture of the tire at its point of contact with the road without 
an attendant flattening or increase in diameter greater than 
nine or ten per cent. 

Above a certain inflation pressure the value of such pres¬ 
sure becomes lost and the action of the tire partakes more 
of the nature of a solid tire. The smaller the tire in relation 
to the load carried, the greater must be the pressure per 
square inch of cross section, and therefore the less resilient 
will become the action of that tire on a rough road. 

It is generally admitted by tire manufacturers that the 
arbitrary figure of twenty pounds pressure for each inch of 
cross section is purposely made some ten or fifteen per cent, 
higher than is absolutely necessary in order to care for prob¬ 
able overloading, infrequent testing and variations in air 
gauges. But it must be borne in mind that this arbitrary 
figure applies only when the tire is loaded with its normal 
weight. 

I have found that when a tire is loaded to one-half a pound 
for each cubic inch of air “volume,” without passengers, it- 
is carrying a load for which it is well adapted, and in the 
light of average practice this represents slight “overtiring.” 
On this basis, however, a 34 x 4-inch tire would have a capacity, 
without passengers, of 2,684 pounds, and under these condi¬ 
tions I would keep that tire pumped to approximately its 
normal pressure of 80 pounds (although I might be tempted 
to take advantage of the ten to fifteen per cent, leeway al¬ 
lowed if I knew that my gauge was accurate). If I find that 
this pressure results in hard riding I will put on the over¬ 
size or 35 x 414-inch tires rather than reduce the pressure in 
my 4-inch tires. On this same basis of figuring, 4^-inch tires 
should be pumped to 90 pounds, when they have a normal load 
of 3,510 pounds, but they are loaded to approximately but 
26/34ths of their normal capacity and therefore they need be 
pumped to but this fraction of 90 pounds, or approximately 
69 pounds. With the larger tire, therefore, a pressure of 69 
pounds per square inch will give sufficient inflation to prevent 
the undue flattening of the tire at its point of contact with 
the ground, and yet will give considerably greater comfort in 
riding. By continuing this system of proportion on the basis 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


153 


of 20 pounds pressure for each inch of cross sections, when the 
tire is loaded to one-half pound for each cubic inch of vol¬ 
ume, we can determine the proper size and pressure for tires 
of any weight car. Harold W. Slauson, New York. 

Depends on the Personal Factor 

In order to get the maximum service from the tires care 
should be taken to see that all four wheels are parallel and 
revolve in planes parallel to the line of the car’s motion. This 
will usually not be the case if the axles are not exactly paral¬ 
lel. On chain-driven cars it sometimes happens that the dis¬ 
tance rods on the rear axle are not adjusted equally. 

It occasionally happens that the clips over the springs become 
loosened and the axle may shift slightly along the springs. 

Another cause of abnormal wear on tires is a “gripping” 
clutch or brakes. If these are not arranged to engage gradu¬ 
ally the tires will be robbed of considerable mileage. Perhaps 
it is unnecessary to say that lubricating oil has a detrimental 
effect on rubber. 

Tire inflation is a subject on which considerable has been 
said. In a few words, a tire should pumped up so that it 
will hold its shape under the particular load it is to carry, 
but not enough so that it will transmit every small shock to 
the axle. Tables furnished by the tire makers are a good 
guide, but the weight carried should be taken into account. 
In order to hold their shape properly a set of small tires on a 
particular car may have to be pumped up until they are quite 
uncomfortable to ride on, while a larger set will keep their 
shape at a much lower pressure and act as a much better 
shock-absorbing medium. Tires should be pumped up to the 
proper point, but more than that they should be kept pumped 
up. Carbon dioxide gas from the exhaust gases or tire tanks 
quickly forces its way through the walls of the inner tube. 
If power pumps are used care should be taken to see that they 
do not pump oil into the tire along with the air. It is also 
well to keep the rims as free from rust as possible. Whenever 
a tire is removed from the rim inspect the latter for rust. 

If any is found it should be removed with a piece of emery 

cloth and the rim shellaced. The tires themselves should be 

inspected frequently when in use. Cuts in the outer casings 
should be filled with “mastic” as soon as noticed and the 
casings should be kept free from mud and foreign matter. 

Aside from the above points it is the opinion of the writer 
that the life of tires is dependent chiefly on the personal factor 
—the driver. It is possible for a careful driver to run a 
properly designed car equipped with proper tires for several 


154 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


thousand miles without trouble, while another driver would 
use up several sets. The first would not “hit ’er up” to mile 
a-minute speed without slowing up again before the tires had 
a chance to overheat, while the latter would disdain to turn 
aside from stones in the road and will take all the bumps at 
high speed. J. Twitchell Lansing, Worcester, Mass. 


PATCHING THE WAYSIDE BLOWOUT 

I N the roadside repair of a blowout there are, theoretically, two 
features to be considered; namely, repair of the tube and 
repair of the case. Practically, however, it resolves itself into 
repair of the case alone, as, if the motorist has no spare tub? 
and has a really bad blowout, he might as well go in on the 
rim. The materials which one should have are: an inside blow¬ 
out patch of frictioned canvas, made to hook over the clinch of 
the tire on both sides, and an outside patch of either leather 
with steel studs, or fabric. Those that lace on are best as a 
temporary repair, since they are more easily put on and will 
hold quite long enough for all practical purposes. The pro¬ 
cedure is as follows: The case having been removed, the 
inside is cleaned with gasoline in the neighborhood of the 
blowout and the canvas interior roughened with emery-paper 
or fine sandpaper. A coat of rubber cement is applied to the 
inside of the case, and to that surface is applied patch which 
comes in contact with it. After five minutes a second coat 
is applied, allowed to become “tacky” and the patch is fitted in, 
the case meanwhile being held to its natural shape so as to 
eliminate the bulge caused by the blowout. The patch is now 
“ironed” in with the fingers or the round head of some tool, and 
allowed to dry for a few minutes. The new tube is sprinkled 
with talc or graphite introduced with due care not to dislodge 
the patch and the tire is fitted to the rim, making sure that the 
side of the patch as in such position as to be held by the hooks of 
the rim, if it be a clincher. The tire is now pumped to about 
me-fourth of its normal pressure and the outside patch care¬ 
fully fitted and laced on quite firmly. The tire is then brought 
to its normal air pressure, the job inspected, and if the outer 
patch is not too tight this blowout will give no further trouble 
for many miles. 

However, being provided with a blowout and little else, 
much may still be done in the way of riding to town on four 
pneumatic tires. The same repair materials are utilized, but 
they must be made on the spot and of whatever happens to 
be handy. The inside patch may be “faked” from a piece of 



WHEELS AND TIRES 


155 


canvas, a piece of an overcoat (if not too heavy), a square of 
leather or even a section of a heavy inner tube. It may be 
made to hold some miles without cement, if put in carefully. 
A piece of leather or a section of a wornout casing will do 
very well for the outer patch; it should be laced on even more 
carefully than the regular outside patch. And, finally, lack¬ 
ing everything else, the hole in the case may be stopped with 
anything that will cover it and the place of the tube taken 
by a few handfuls of oats or hay. 

If no new tube is carried and the rent is not too large it 
may be patched so as to hold a few miles. The cementless 
patches, so convenient for punctures, are almost useless here. 
A strong rubber patch and several coats of cement are re¬ 
quired. A section of an old tube is really the best patch, but 
probably will not be in the car if no provision at all has been 
made for the ever-possible blowout. 

The methods and materials outlined above are not new, nor 
are they the only ways and means of accomplishing our pur¬ 
pose; but they have given sufficient satisfaction time and 
again, and are neither complicated, costly nor unduly time- 
consuming. Dr. C. D. Enfield, Jefferson, la. 

Utilizing Old Tires 

This is not for the motorist who is satisfied with the atten¬ 
tion his car receives at the average garage, or at the hands of 
most chauffeurs, but for the one who enjoys keeping his car 
up to the concert pitch at all times. A blowout can only be 
temporarily repaired with a blowout patch and a tire sleeve, 
and it takes no more time to repair it permanently. Most any 
motorist has an old casing on hand. If he will cut out around 
the bead on each side of the case and cut across the tread 
deep enough to go through the tread and binder (or first layer 
of canvas) he can, by placing one end in a vise, start the 
other end and strip completely all rubber and binder from the 
case, leaving an endless three or four-ply canvas liner which, 
when rolled up, requires very little room in the machine. 
When the blowout occurs insert a good blowout patch and 
then the liner, which will not require to be cemented. Dust 
the inside of the liner with graphite; it is far better 
than soapstone, and the insertion of a floating flap will com¬ 
pletely cover the edges of a new liner. This gives a perman¬ 
ent repair which will outlast the tread many times. The 
time required for the whole operation is less than it takes 
to inflate the tire. As soon as opportunity presents itself 
pack a few layers of gum in the broken tread and clamp on 
the vulcanizer for thirty minutes—and the case is better than 


156 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


if a new section had been put in. A few dollars invested in a 
vulcanizer and a few minutes’ attention now and then, given 
to the tires, are money and time well spent. 

Mrs. C. B. Hainson, Belleville, Ill. 

A Use for Old Tires 

If, instead of disposing of all his old shoes to the junkman 

as fast as they wear out, the motorist will reserve one that 

is fairly good, and cut into sections of various lengths with 
a hacksaw, he will be most admirably equipped to answer this 
query by making a good repair of the blowout right then and 
there. He will not have to worry about driving home on a 
“flat,” giving up for a new shoe, or struggling to make his 
credit good with a garageman who never heard of him before 
he stranded in that particular neck of the woods. It must 

indeed be a very wreck of a blowout that cannot be made 

good with one of these emergency shoes. I have driven a tire 
through which the whole hand could be inserted, and not 
simply “home,” but a matter of 200 miles or more, with the aid 
of this cheap and extremely effective expedient. And the 
strange part of it is that that shoe did not give up the ghost 
even then; the home-made patch shifted and let the tube 
“bubble” out of the hole, without injuring it. Rather than 
take chances of a repetition, I discarded the shoe, but I know 
there’s two or three hundred miles of wear in it yet. 

To make these emergency blowout repairs, I took an old 
worn-out casing and cut the best part of it into five pieces of 
different lengths with a hacksaw, cutting at a decided angle 
so as to bevel the ends. The beads were then trimmed off, the 
bevel and other parts smoothed up as much as possible, and 
the repair was ready for any emergency. The shortest one is 
six inches and the longest eighteen inches. This will make 
good a shoe that has blown itself clean in half, except the 
beads, while even the shortest one will take care of a very 
fair-sized hole. The various-sized patches are not really neces¬ 
sary—the one long one will meet all requirements and meet 
them better—but it makes replacement of the shoe on the rim 
somewhat difficult unless equipped with one of those new tools 
that make it easy to squeeze the shoe together so that the 
Q.D. rings can be put in place. This is the chief expedient 
that I should recommend to the man who wants to be ready 
for a bad blowout at a time when a spare is not at hand and 
not readily obtainable—buy one of those tools. The long patch 
costs nothing and should always be on the car. It has any 
and every form of patent blowout patch ever put on the market 
backed completely off the boards; if you paid $10 for it you 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


157 


couldn’t buy anything better. No outside reinforcement is 
really necessary, even in severe cases; the eighteen-inch patch 
will fix anything that can be fixed at all. An outside blowing 
patch will keep mud out of the hole, but that’s about all. It 
will wear out in a hundred miles and the car will bump un¬ 
comfortably as long as it lasts. 

Richard Wright, New York. 


CONSERVING THE TIRES 

TN view of the number of motor cars in use, it is surprising 
to find how much ignorance there is regarding the construction 
and care of tires, and the troubles to which they are liable. 
Many owners have fairly comprehensive ideas of the motor and 
parts relating to it. They can talk intelligently of magnetos, 
carbureters, valves, clutches, transmissions, etc., and can fre¬ 
quently locate trouble without difficulty. When it comes to tires, 
however, they are lost, and all they know is a “blow-out” and, 
even then, to be exact, they do not know that. Literally speak- 
in, they are correct, but technically they are wrong, when a cas¬ 
ing, shoe or tire, whatever you wish to name it, gives way from 
any cause, the inner tube containing air at a pressure of from 
fifty to ninety or more pounds per square inch naturally blows 
out. But probably not one case in a hundred is a genuine blow¬ 
out caused by defective construction, but is the result of a 
bruise or cut. 

A casing, as we shall call it. is built up of from four to 
seven plies of rubber-covered fabric shaped up around hard 
rubber rings forming the beads or clinches, covered with a 
coating of rubber over the entire body to protect the fabric, 
and over all the thick tread wrapped or molded on. The 
casing is, of course, shaped up on a suitable form or mold and 
is then vulcanized in a steam box or drum (generally called a 
kettle) for a certain length of time at a certain pressure. 

These factors vary with different tire makers according to 
the compounding followed. After they are once determined 
by extended experiment, it follows that the same compound 
subjected to the same treatment must naturally produce uni¬ 
form results. In building up a casing, one ply is put on at a 
time, and each ply laid on in absolute contact, one with the 
other. Unfortunately, it sometimes occurs that at one place 
there will not be this absolute contact. When this casing is 
put in service the separation will permit an internal chafing 
that first pulverizes the rubber coating. Then the plies of 
fabric chafe one on the other, and they in turn pulverize. 
After running a few hundred miles this weak spot blows out, 



158 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


and the tire owner can then truthfully claim a “blow-out.” In¬ 
spection of the break will show plainly the separation of fab¬ 
ric, and the fine dust, looking somewhat like dirty flour, 
thickens the genuine blow-out. 

The point that puzzles most owners is a fabric break on the 
inside of the casing, and no sign of a cut on the tread. As an 
illustration of the manner in which this may be caused, it is 
only necessary to watch some drivers negotiate a railroad 
crossing at grade, on a smooth, level road. Many of them, 
seeing that the crossing is clear, slow down little, if any. The 
front wheels lift as they strike the near rail, and the mo¬ 
mentum is such that they generally drop full on the far rail 
when they do come down. The rail does not leave the sign 
of a mark on the tread; but sometime later, maybe a few 
hours, sometimes several days or even a week, one or both 
the front tires blow out, and the motorist unburdens himself 
of a few remarks regarding “punk” tires. 

Now, what really happened was that when the tires struck 
that far rail they were pressed in to such an extent that a 
small fabric break started. This gradually increased until it 
had opened up sufficiently to allow the tube to force itself in. 
As the wheel revolved, the break closed down and pinched the 
tube, which, of course, blew out. The sudden expansion of 
the air then forced through the plies of fabric not already 
broken, and the casing is in need of a “section.” It is prob¬ 
able in such a case that, the tread being too heavy to permit 
the blow-out to pass through, the fabric will be ripped clear 
down to the side walls, as the point of least resistance, and 
the gap will make the tire look very bad. If the owner knew 
as much about tires as he should, he would then make no 
claim for a defective tire. He would see the result, and, by 
thinking over his handling of the tire, would recall the cause 
of the trouble. Any obstacle large enough to give the tire a 
shock if struck, and not having sharp edges or corners, will 
cause these fabric breaks and yet not mark the tread. 

The fabric, in making motor-car tires, is cut on the bias. 
The ladies will all understand this, but for the benefit of the 
men it must be explained that it means that the fabric is cut 
diagonally or at an angle with the line of weave. The entire 
roll of fabric is cut up in this manner into strips of proper 
width for the particular cross section of casing desired. When 
built up into the completed casing, the lines of weave run 
diagonally across, and a fabric break caused by a bruise or 
blow, shows as running at an angle instead of straight across 
or parallel with the sides. The principal reason for this 
method of cutting the fabric is that it leaves but little full- 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


159 


ness in shaping up around or along the bead. The tire being 
from six to ten or more inches smaller in diameter on the 
rim than on the tread, there would be considerable wrinkling 
if the fabric was laid on with the weave; and, even if this 
could be done, a fabric break, once started, would continue 
around the entire circumference. 

The one thing vital in securing maximum tire service is 
proper inflation. Insufficient inflation is responsible for ninety 
per cent of tire trouble. Rim cuts, fabric breaking, separation 
of fabric inside and of rubber cover outside, are in a great 
measure due to this fault. When advised regarding inflation 
many owners bring up the old cry about getting out in hot 
weather on a hot road and having a blow-out because the heat 
expands the air in the tire to such an extent as to cause dam 
age. If the casing has had proper attention from the time it 
was first used, and the fabric is intact, it is almost impossible 
for the air to expand sufficiently to cause damage. At the 
same time it is a simple matter to test the pressure from 
time to time and if found to be going up, to reduce it by let¬ 
ting a little air out of the valve. A pressure gauge applied to 
all tires in service would show a small percentage of 
cases where there was necessity of reducing the pressure that 
it need not be considered. 

The point on which the question of inflation really hinges 
is that of speed. If a casing of a certain section, say foui 
inches, which was designed for inflation at eighty pounds pei 
square inch, was never driven at a greater speed than fifteen 
miles per hour a pressure of fifty pounds might be ample 
An obstacle struck by a tire traveling at that speed would be 
passed over easily and have no effect upon it. Now, assuming 
that the pressure of fifty pounds is retained and that the tire 
strikes the same obstacle when going at a rate of thirty miles 
per hour, the result will probably be a serious injury to the 
fabric of the tire, as the shock will be four times as great as 
at fifteen miles per hour. If the speed be increased to forty- 
five miles per hour, the shock will be nine times as great. In 
other words, the force of blow or shock increases directly as 
the square of the speed. 

Many owners state that they do not understand how it is 
possible to force a casing in, so as to cause a fabric break 
With proper inflation this is hardly possible without a great 
shock, yet if they will consider the matter a moment they will 
see that it is the fundamental principle of the pneumatic tire 
to yield to the inequalities of the road. There is no doubt 
that a highly inflated tire rides harder, but as tire expense 
is one of the banes of motoring, it is better to sacrifice a little 


160 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


comfort and make the springs assume a little more duty, than 
to have continual expense, to say nothing of trouble on the 
road. 

There are other causes of tire trouble, however, and these 
are generally due to the driver. In starting up rapidly there 
is likely to be considerably slip, and this will wear a tire 
down quickly. Sudden and frequent application of brakes 
are especially hard on tires, not only from the sliding of the 
car after the rear wheels stop, but from the skidding or side¬ 
way sliding due to sudden braking. The rounding of corners 
or curves at high speed causes this same skidding movement, 
and at the same time creates an undue strain on the whole 
casing, particularly on the side walls and beads. Turning a 
corner at high speed will sometimes twist the casing to such 
an extent as to lift the beads out from under the rim, with the 
result that the whole casing blows off the wheel, running the 
inner tube. When a casing once blows off the rim it is prob¬ 
able that the beads are so badly stretched as to preclude 
further service. Even if the casing stays on the rim, the twist¬ 
ing will lift the beads slightly, and the tube will force under 
one side or the other. When the car straightens out on its 
course, the bead settles down and pinches the tube and down 
goes the tire. While inner tubes are not as costly as casings, 
yet a few ruined tubes will quickly run up the tire expense. 

When a tire goes down, due to a puncture or any other 
cause, the only logical course to follow is to change the tube 
immediately. A casing run deflated, even for a few hundred 
yards, is likely to be ruined beyond hope of repair. The fabric 
will separate all around inside, and the rim will chafe through 
the sides. While it is most exasperating to be compelled to 
change a tire, particularly when one is in a hurry, it is the 
only course to follow if it is desired ever to use the casing 
again. 

There is one trouble, and a very common one, that arises 
from having the wheels out of alignment. This is often notice¬ 
able on front wheels, and the result is the wearing off of the 
tread in a few hundred miles. The reason for this is that, in 
' addition to the wear due to the revolution of the wheels, there 
is a drag or scraping owing to the wheels toeing in or out. 
To detect this, it is only necessary to stretch a cord from the 
back edge of the rear wheel to the front edge of the front 
wheel. If the cord fails to touch the back edge of the front 
wheel when drawn taut, it shows that the wheel points out¬ 
ward. If it does not touch the front edge of the rear wheel 
then the front wheel points in. In either case the effect is 
practically the same, and the tread is likely to wear down on 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


161 


five or six hundred miles. It is not often that this trouble 
is found in rear wheels. 

To sum it all up, it is only necessary to state that the motor¬ 
car tire of to-day is the result of years of experiment and 
logical study, coupled with vigilant mechanical supervision 
and inspection. A little reciprocity from the motoring public 
would result in mutual satisfaction, and the elimination of 
much of the friction that occasionally develops. S. D. Just. 


PROPER CARE OF TIRES IN WINTER 


Republic on the Care of Tires in Winter 


T'HERE is nothing the motorist should practice more than 
the conservation of motor car equipment. Tires, as a 
rule, receive less attention and are called upon to go further 
and do more than any other part of the car equipment, and 
we therefore feel and hope (that the motorist may derive 
something beneficial from a few suggestions “picked up” 
in our years of experience in the manufacture of tires. 

On paved or city streets the motrist in winter months 
has snow, sleet and rain to contend with, and as there is 
great danger in skidding, chains should be properly applied 
and used. This requires much care, as improper application 
is not only harmful to the tire but the chain as well. It is 
not necessary on dry roads to use them, as a good reliable 
non-skid tire prevents side slipping or skidding. Avoid 
car tracks, as they allow the rear tires to slide or spin while 
stopping or starting and there is also great danger of skid¬ 
ding in turning out of them.. 

Frozen country roads cause a great deal of trouble, caus¬ 
ing cuts and bruises. Long tread cuts are the ususal results 
of driving through mud roads caused by the spinning of the 
rear wheels over sharp stones, and we again suggest the use 
of chains under such conditions. 

Once or twice each month a reliable vulcanizer should be 
used and all necessary repairs made. Neglected cuts allow 
gravel and water to enter and loosen the tread, and if small 
matters are not cared for promptly and properly they soon be¬ 
come large ones. Brakes should be inspected frequently. 
Do not apply them suddenly, unless, of course, to prevent 
accident; this as well as spinning the wheels when starting is 
very bad practice and should be avoided. Under-inflation 
has been the most direct cause of tire trouble and is un¬ 
called for when one considers that almost every city block 



162 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


and every small town has either a tire repair shop, garage or 
accessory store which is equipped to furnish air absolutely 
free of charge. An underinflated tare will roll over the stones 
instead of kicking them aside and cause a bruise or break 
in the tire which later results in a blowout. Rim cuts, sep¬ 
aration of the plies of fabric and other trouble are to be 
found if this is not watched closely. Driving on a flat tire 
results in the troubles mentioned above and, if not equipped 
with a spare casing, run on the rim. Front wheels should 
be examined and kept in proper alignment at all times, as 
this will cause both rubber and fabric to wear through in 
a very short time. 

Cars which are stored for the winter should not be allowed 
to stand on the tires. This is very hard on both casings 
and tubes and renders them unfit for service when the car is 
again put into service. We would recommend in this case 
that the car be jacked up and set on blocks or “horses” and 
about one-half the required air pressure left in the tires. 
Before the car is put into service, demount the tires and 
have them carefully examined; all rust should be removed 
from the rims and graphite applied. This method, in our 
estimation, and after several tests, has proven most satis¬ 
factory at the least expense. There are several suggestions 
on the subject, such as demounting the tires and wrapping 
separately in paper cloth or burlap and should be stored in 
a dry dark room; however, as stated above, we have found 
the first mentioned to give just as good, if not better results, 
and will enable the motorist to realize maximum service at 
minimum cost.—Republic Motor Co. 

What Michelin Has to Say 

First of all, many tire manufacturers will tell you because 
of some particular pattern of non-skid tread employed that 
chains are not necessary in winter, but we do not do this, 
because we believe that chains are absolutely necessary under 
certain conditions. There is a right way and a wrong way, 
however, to use chains. 

For example, chains should be used only when necessary 
for safety. Some motorists keep their chains on their tires 
for weeks at a time, using them on hard, dry roads—such 
misuse subjects the chains to unnecessary wear and also in¬ 
jures the tires greatly, as the cross links of the chains will 
be forced into the rubber owing to the hard unyielding 
surface of the road when dry. 

A motorist should always be very careful to adjust his 


WHEELS AND TIRES 


163 


chains with tension just sufficient to allow them to creep 
slightly, otherwise the cross links will wear through the 
rubber of the tread very quickly. Care should also be taken al¬ 
ways to fit the chains with the same side toward the casings. 
When chains are in use friction with the road wears off the 
smooth rounded surface of the cross links, leaving rough 
edges. Now, if the motorist when again fitting his chain 
does not take care to fit them with the same side toward the 
casings the sharp edges of the cross links will cut through 
the rubber very quickly. 

Another precaution; many tires are ruined from rough 
usage by driving in deep frozen ruts. No tire will stand 
abuse of this sort, because the rough sides of a frozen run 
will very quickly grind and chafe through the side wall of 
any tire. Of course, there are times when it is necessary to 
run in ruts for a short distance, but nearly always ruts can 
be avoided by driving in second speed over on the side of the 
road, or even on the wrong side of the road when passing 
deeply rutted spots. 

When a motorist lays up his car for the winter he should 
give special care and attention to the manner in which his 
tires are stored while out of commission. 

It is highly advisable to remove tires from the rims and 
jack up the wheels of the car. There are three reasons for 
doing this—it relieves the tires of the weight of the car; it 
gives the owner an opportunity to clean his rims, which is 
very important as the accumulation of rust on a rim will 
work severe injury to both casing and the tube; the third 
and most important reason for removing tires from the rims 
is that they may be removed to a place of storage under suit¬ 
able conditions. 

When a rim becomes rusty it becomes very rough, and if 
this rust comes in contact with the 'tube it will very soon cut 
through the tube in places, in all probability ruining it beyond 
repair. Furthermore, the rust on the edges of the rims will 
chafe through the rubber on the side walls of the casing, 
leaving the fabric exposed ito further injury from the rust. 

When a fabric of any tire is in constant contact with a 
rusty rim the rust will eat through the fabric plys until the 
tire gives out just above (the bead. 

The removal of tires during winter storage gives the 
owner an excellent opportunity to clean his rims thor¬ 
oughly, which should be done with emery paper, then a coat 
of black varnish should be applied and the motorist will 


164 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


be assured that his rims are in good condition for the next 
season’s usage and will not work any injury to the tires. 

It might be added further that there are three elements 
of danger to tires when in storage; namely, heat, light and 
moisture. To guard against dangers from these three sources 
it is only necessary to store the tires in a comparatively cool 
and thoroughly dry place and to cover them in such a way 
that the light will not strike them. Failure to protect cas¬ 
ings and tubes from these three elements will most cer¬ 
tainly result in deterioration to both casings and tubes. This 
means an unnecessary bill of expense for the owner, and 
what is more important, it involves the waste of two ma¬ 
terials—rubber and fabric, the conservation of which is most 
necessary at this time. 

Whether tires are left on the car during the winter, or 
are removed for storage, they should be kept inflated to a 
sufficient degree to retain their normal round shape.—Michelin 


Tire Co. 


MAKING THE TIRE CHANGE EASIER 

HOSE whose cars are fitted with demountable rims, or 



-*• wheels, will usually find that, in the long run, they change 
tires at home in the garage about three times as often as they 
do on the road. Sometimes a tire goes flat during the night; 
again a slow leak develops. At other times, one changes 
a tire on the road and puts the new spare on the wheel. 
Wishing to keep the good spare tire for emergency use, the 
old tire is fixed at home, and then the old tire is replaced. 

On account of the number of tire changes, made in my 
home garage, I have fitted it up with an extra tire pump, 
and a complete set of tire tools. Now the tools in the car 
do not have to be unpacked and repacked every time I make 
a tire change at home. I also have a good, quick-acting 
jack for garage use, and a set of larger and heavier tire 
tools than I care to load on the car. These heavy tools are 
especially useful for putting new tires on the rims. 

Instead of jacking up the car in the usual way, I have 
strengthened the roof of the garage with an extra beam. 
From this beam I have suspended a block and tackle arrange¬ 
ment and have a set of special hooks so that I can lift up 
either the front or rear of the car, as may be desired, by 
simply turning the convenient crank handle of the little 



WHEELS AND TIRES 


165 


winch which is fastened to the side wall of the garage. This 
hoist arrangement would be too expensive to justify its use 
only for tire changing. But, since it is so convenient for 
lifting the car for all sorts of repairs and adjustments, I 
have certainly found it a worth while addition to my garage 
equipment. 

Murray Fahnestock, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Many Inventions 

The majority of car jacks are provided with short de¬ 
tachable wooden handles making it necessary for the driver 
to kneel when placing the device in position under the car 
axle. If the short handle is discarded and a two foot section 
of broom handle is tapered to fit into the handle socket a 
much more convenient manner of placing the jack without 
soiling of hats or trousers is provided. 

On soft or sandy ground the small base of a jack does not 
provide a very stable foundation and the result is usually 
when the wheel is jacked up to the required height, the 
lifting tool tips over and down goes the axle. I find that 
by removing one of the small floor boards in the front of 
the car and placing this on the ground for a base the car 
can be jacked up quickly and will stay in this position with¬ 
out toppling down while the tire is being removed and re¬ 
placed. 

While it is necessary to work the jack handle to lift the 
axle, it is not necessary to jack it down again. When the 
tire work is over give the car a slight push and lift the jack 
over. No possible harm is done and it saves a minute or 
more of timei 

A while back when I had accustomed myself to the use 
of the small jack and narrow tire irons, which are made so 
with the probable intent of saving steel, I watched a one- 
armed man change a clincher tire. He removed the old tire 
and put on a new casing in one half the time in which I 
could do it. His method was to put the tube inside of the 
casing, place both beads over the rim and with the aid of 
two pieces of broken spring about twenty inches long and 
two and one-half or three inches wide, he placed one piece 
between the tire beads and wheel rim, turned the wheel until 
the tool was near the ground, placed his foot on the tool, and 
with his one hand he inserted the other tool in a like man¬ 
ner and pried the tire over easily. The advantage of 
prying over both beads at the one time, other than that of 
saving considerable time is that the inner edges of the beads 


166 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


close up and keep the inner tube in place, thus eliminating 
the danger of pinching the tube between the bead and rim 
or between the tire tool and rim. I have always, since then, 
used two pieces of spring leaves for tire work and find that 
the width of these tools affords a comfortable hand hold 
and they are of the best grade of tempered steel that is not 
easily bent or broken. 

An ordinary “C” clamp, apart from other usefulness, is 
an excellent tool for loosening rim rusted tires. Place it 
over the tire as you would a caliper and take up on the 
screw. Rusted rims, however, are a nuisance that should 
not be tolerated for the tires and tubes are both damaged 
to some extent by this condition. 

It is a very easy matter to apply a coat of ordinary stove 
polish to the rims when tires are changed. This polish 
contains a considerable amount of graphite which in ad¬ 
dition to protecting the rims makes the work of removal 
and replacement of tires easier, the stove polish being a sort 
of waterproof lubricant. 

G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER XII 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD 

REPAIRS 

CLEVER EMERGENCY REPAIRS 

OERHAPS the most important emergency repair I ever made 
1 made on the open road in order safely to operate my car, was 
the temporary cobbling together of the jackshaft drive on a Metz, 
which employs a friction drive through two chains to the rear 
wheels. 

It occurred last November, and I had left Evansville, Ind., at 
noon, expecting to make St. Louis, Mo., early the next morning, 
a distance of 245 miles. About 10 o’clock that night I reached 
the oil field section of Illinois, a very hilly country. At this point 
one of the drive chains broke and was lost overboard. With the 
aid of an oil lamp from the side of the car I finally found the 
chain, only to discover that there were no repair links in the tool 
box. However, I managed a temporary repair, using as rivet 
a nail filched from a small bridge nearby. This job served well 
enough until I struck several miles of low river bottom road, 
which was extremely heavy from a fine rain that had been fall¬ 
ing since early evening. 

Just after passing over a creek on a loose plank bridge, the 
car came to a halt, the engine continuing to run; the chain had 
broken again and dropped off somewhere along the road. This 
allowed the power to escape through the idle side of the jack- 
shaft, upon which the differential is located. 

I spent more than an hour searching for the chain with the 
help of the oil side lamp, but vainly—it was lost forever. Prob¬ 
ably it had slipped through the planks of the bridge and was at 
the bottom of the creek. 

I was now seven miles from the small village of Clay City, 
where help was improbable, and thirty-one miles from Flora, a 
town of some fifteen hundred people. Decidedly it was “up to 
me.” I started the engine to see if one chain would not pull the 
car; it would not. Then I noticed that the sprocket wheel on 
the jackshaft revolved when the friction drive was applied and it 
struck me that if I could anchor this wheel and keep it from 
going round I might get somewhere. 


167 


168 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


I “borrowed” about ten feet of wire from a neighboring 
farmer’s fence and wired the sprocket wheel to the frame in 
such a way that it could not move. Then I applied the friction 
drive and discovered to my delight that the single chain was able 
to move the car, though at a pace comparable to a snail’s 
progress. 

Eventually I reached the town of Flora and secured a new 
chain, which came on by a morning train, and I reached St. Louis 
just twelve hours late. 

Good Luck, Granite City, Ill. 

Repairing a Broken Spring 

Speaking of emergency repairs on the open road, when it would 
have been unsafe to operate the car had I been unable to remedy 
the trouble, I recall a hurried trip to Detroit. I was driving a 
Franklin machine, and for the benefit of those unfamiliar with 
its construction we will note that same employs the Hotchkiss 
drive, all driving stress being borne by the main leaves of the 
rear springs. 

When about 100 miles from my destination and within ten 
miles of the nearest garage, the main leaf of the lower half of 
the right rear spring broke half way between the axle and the 
end of the spring, leaving nothing but the small spring leaf clip 
to support the drive on that side. 

By forethought I was prepared for such an accident, through 
having provided myself with two pieces of flat steel 2 inches 
wide by *4 inch thick, having holes bored in each end through 
which I inserted cap screws of sufficient length to firmly clamp 
both pieces directly over the break in the spring. By virtue of 
this makeshift I was able to proceed with the journey after a 
delay of only fifteen minutes, and continued to use the car for a 
period of ten days before being able to secure a new leaf from 
the factory, our service branch having none in stock. 

Circumstances alter cases, and in view of the fact that the 
trip in question was of vast importance to my employer and any 
great delay a serious matter to him, and due to the fact that it 
would have been absolutely foolhardy to attempt the remainder 
of the journey with the spring in a broken condition, it seems 
to me that the repair in question was a most serviceable one and 
it might not be out of order to state that I have since had occa¬ 
sion to make the same repair on a Locomobile. 

J. R. B., Battle Creek, Mich. 

Improving a Bearing 

One has many funny and interesting experiences in fifteen 
years of automobile driving, and some of the makeshifts and 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON HOAD REPAIRS 


169 


temporary repairs that I have made or seen others make in the 
early days of motordom would look and sound like fairy tales 
to most of our new drivers. 

f remember, along about 1904, starting for home one summer 
day. When I was about twenty-five miles on my way I heard 
a terrific pound, coming from the region of my crank case. Now 
the crank case of this particular car was located back of the 
front seat, and the engine was of the two-cylinder type, a truly 
wonderful and fearfully made construction as i. had learned to 
my sorrow. 

I recognized the knock as an old friend—or enemy—and had 
no trouble in diagnosing the case as a pair of burned out babbits, 
nothing new by the way, and a trouble for which I was usually 
prepared by carrying an extra set of bearings. 

In this instance I found that the extra parts were lacking and 
I set about for some means of making a temporary repair that 
would speed me on my homeward way. 

I found that the original babbits were ground to small frag¬ 
ments and were of no further use, so I searched my repair ease 
and tool box for something that might be used for a bearing 
surface, finally settling on a long, thin, flat strip of copper. This 
I wound as tightly as possible around the bearing surface of the 
crank shaft, tightened up the bearings, applied a liberal dose of 
lubricating oil and joyfully drove the twenty-five miles home 
without further trouble. 

On another occasion a few years later while driving a four- 
cylinder car, it suddenly developed a terrific bump with every 
turn of the rear axle. After a little thought and experimenting 
I jacked up one rear wheel and found on turning over the said 
wheel that a piece of steel had broken off from the big bevel 
gear and had become imbedded in the teeth of the gears. I 
opened the oil hole in the differential case, turned the wheel over 
till I found the piece of steel, drove it out from between the 
teeth with a hammer and cold chisel, picked out the broken piece 
and drove on my way rejoicing. 

To the best of my memory I have never been hauled home 
but twice, once with a broken crank shaft absolutely beyond re¬ 
pair, and on another occasion I had a steering gear give way 
while driving at a fair rate of speed, with the result that my car 
collided with a hedge, smashing radiator, wheels and axles. 

I have repaired a broken spring with a board and some wire; 
have used flaxseed in a leaky radiator to bring me home; once 
upon a time I burned the platinum off the contact points of my 
old-fashioned breaker and made a new one with the tip of a 
steel nail—the spark was not perfect, but she managed to hit 
intermittently and I got home in good shape. 

One car which I owned had a timer of the old-fashioned type 


170 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


and it was a daily occurrence for it to slip its timing and have to 
be reset. This I did so frequently that it 'became a very small 
job to do quickly and easily. 

It has always been my contention that the owner or driver 
should be able to detect and make small minor repairs such as 
valve trouble, carbureter or spark plug difficulties, etc., and the 
man who lacks this simple knowledge has no one to blame but 
himself when he gets “hung up” forty miles from home, with 
some small trouble that he cannot diagnose. 

J. G. Hoffman, Kewanee, Ill. 

A Broken Torsion Rod 

The car I drive was made in those days when close attention 
to details of ultimate safety were rather lax, having been designed 
with the torsion rod before and on a level with the front axle. 
I was traveling over some rough road when something struck 
the torsion rod, breaking and bending it. To repair the damage 
equipped machine shop to handle, with a tedious tow-in as addi- 
presented quite a problem, as it looked like a case for a well 
tional trouble. I succeeded in getting hold of some necessary 
tools and supplies and started to work on a repair. I cut the 
bent section of the rod out on both ends of the break and suc¬ 
ceeded in straightening it. I obtained a piece of one-inch water 
pipe, the inside diameter of which was approximately the thick¬ 
ness of the torsion rod. I removed one end of the torsion rod, 
slipped the pipe on, which had previously 'been cut to fit between 
the points where the rod curved down beneath the springs, then 
inserted the straightened section of the rod, then added the other 
end and replaced the entire assembly. Three quarter-inch holes 
were then drilled, one to each section of the rod. Three twenty- 
penny nails were next cut and riveted in to hold the assembly to¬ 
gether. As an extra measure of safety several lengths of some 
heavy wire were run between the two spindles and twisted tight 
with a screwdriver. The repair was sufficiently successful to per¬ 
mit me to get home although the driving was of necessity rather 
slow. 

My car is no exception to those that, having seen better days, 
are particularly liable to give trouble, so I was not surprised 
when a sudden aggravated case of overheating developed. I in¬ 
vestigated the motor and found the water pump shaft to be 
broken. With the usual facilities that are available for roadside 
repairs I set to work. The pump was removed, and with a 3-16 
inch flat file I filed slots in both ends of the broken shaft directly 
opposite each other and to a depth of a quarter of an inch. This 
proved to be rather hard work, but the hardness of the steel 
made possible the success of the job. I then cut off the pointed 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD REPAIRS 171 

handle end of the file and made a piece 3-16 thick and the length 
of the diameter of the shaft. The pump was then replaced, with 
the piece of file placed in the slots. Tape was next wrapped 
around the whole assembly, with broken hacksaw blades worked 
in between the various layers. In addition it was well wrapped 
with steel wdre, and finally two hose clamps were placed on. The 
whole job was assembled with the idea of permitting a universal 
joint-like action to take place at the repair, as it was impossible 
to keep the shaft absolutely true at all times. The packing 
around the shaft at the pump was released as much as possible 
without excessive water loss to reduce the stress on the shaft at 
that point. I termed it a tedious job successfully completed. 

R. F. S., Cumberland, Md. 

Shifting Gears With a Screw-Driver 

We were fifteen miles out of the last town and ten miles from 
supper, with the sun just setting and no other machine in sight. 
In preparing to go through a mud-hole I had tried to shift gears 
too quickly with the result that the lower end of the gear-shift 
lever had broken off just under the ball and socket joint, leaving 
the car in neutral and powerless to go on. My partner got out 
the book of troubles, and though it mentioned a hundred and one 
mishaps and how to remedy them it said nothing about a broken 
gear-shift lever. 

Just as the sun dropped behind a nearby hill I had a sudden 
inspiration. I told my plan to my companion, who was at first 
skeptical, but then, perhaps thinking of the good supper we were 
missing, he said to go ahead and. try it. 

I first took up the floor board and then, with a wrench, 

loosened the nuts that held the top of the gear-box. When 

this plate was removed the upper part of the shifting lever 

lifted off with it, and thus left the whole system of sliding 

gear-sets exposed to view. Since the slots in which the end of 
the lever normally slid were narrow, it was obvious that some¬ 
thing would need to be used to take its place and that it 
would have to have its own handle, since it could not possibly 
be fastened to the ball on the original lever. The large sized 
screw-driver was the very thing. 

With a little poking about I found which gear-set had to be 
pushed, or rather pried, back to put the machine into “first” and 
then the one for “second” and lastly the one for “high.” Placing 
the lower end of the screw-driver in the slot and against the de¬ 
sired gear-set, and the middle of the screw-driver against the 
edge of the gear-box, I pulled back on the handle and thus 
pushed the gears controlling “first” into mesh. Then while I 
pushed out the clutch with my foot my friend stepped on the 


172 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


self-starter and we soon had the engine throbbing again. As I 
let the clutch in very slowly the machine crept forward on to the 
dry road once more. - We ran on “first” until a slight down grade 
was reached, where, pushing out the clutch and letting the car 
coast, I returned the gears to neutral with the screw-driver, and 
then pushed those of “high” into mesh in the same way I had 
previously done with “first.” Since the machine was coasting I 
went, as you noticed, from “first” straight into “high,” and with 
the machine once more under way I removed the screw-driver 
and we drove into town with the mere inconvenience of flying 
grease from the open gear-box. 

Edwin M. C. Guyer, La Jolla, Cal. 

An Emergency Spring Repair 

Although today motor cars are a wonderfully developed, and 
it seems, almost perfected piece of mechanism, there are times 
when the unforeseen will occur and an emergncy road repair 
will be necessary. When it is considered what a function the 
springs of a car perform and the innumerable shocks and vibra¬ 
tions they absorb in every mile of travel, it is remarkable that 
spring breakage does not occur more frequently than it does. 
However, when it does happen, further travel without repair is 
impossible in most cases. If the mishap occurs, as it did once in 
my experience, while on a tour and far from a repair shop, the 
motorist is confronted with a problem. While spring breakage 
cannot be absolutely guarded against, a little foresight will solve 
the problem and lessen the inconvenience and annoyance. 

The “little foresight” should be in the form of a piece of 
three by four scantling. It will be found good practice always 
to carry a piece about 18 inches long in the equipment of the car, 
because there are several uses to which it may be put in an 
emergency. For instance, if the ground under the car is soft or 
unstable when a jack is used, the scantling will serve as a solid 
base upon which to put the jack. When two jacks are needed 
for a repair, the piece of three by four will do duty admirably 
as a jack. It can be used as a mallet in putting on tires and 
there are several other uses that necessity will make obvious. 

But my purpose is to show how it will solve the problem of a 
broken spring. If the spring be a front one, the car should be 
jacked up by putting the jack under the frame just to the rear of 
the spring shackle and raising to a height above the other side of 
the frame. Now put the piece of timber between the frame and 
axle lengthwise with the frame. It should then be lashed and 
fastened securely at its center to the axle at the spring saddle. 
This should be done in such a way that it will not alter its posi¬ 
tion, which can be accomplished by cutting nicks in the timber 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD REPAIRS 


173 


and fastening with wire to the axle. Next lower the jack until 
the frame is level with the other side and it rests upon the im- 
P r ?vised spiing of wood. If the scantling has been previously 
drilled, with two quarter-inch holes at either end, the matter of 
fastening it to the frame will he simplified, for wires can be 
drawn through and it can thus he lashed firmly to the frame. 
With this done the jack may be taken from under the frame and 
the motorist may proceed. 

If the rear spring is broken, the method will be much the 
same. In some cases with’ three-quarter or full elliptic springs 
it may be found advisable to fasten the timber to the broken 
spring, so that it serves as a brace for it, instead of fastening to 
the frame. With different type springs, whether front or rear it 
may be necessary to vary the directions outlined above in order 
to accommodate the particular type. 


Thomas A. Clark, Washington, D. C. 


ROADSIDE REPAIRS 


NYONE who has driven an automobile for three or four 



1 years can readily cite instances of breakdowns far from 
help; and the many ingenious devices utilized to get the machine 
to running again in order to get home or to the nearest garage. 
Last night the writer had one of these experiences with his 
automobile, a model “Fifty-one” Overland. Out in the country 
twelve miles from home at 8:00 o’clock at night, with roads in 
terrible condition, rough, muddy and half frozen, with snow 
beginning to fall, and the thermometer rapidly falling, the 
engine suddenly stopped and refused to run. Upon careful 
investigation it was found that the end plate of the magneto 
had become loosened from the clips holding it in place and 
had dropped away from the magneto with the cable attached. 
In the center of this end plate is a carbon brush which pro¬ 
jects against the magneto and is held in contact by a spiral 
spring in the bottom of the socket into which this carbon 
brush fits. This carbon brush is a little smaller in diameter 
than a common lead pencil and about three-fourth of an 
inch long. It was found that this had been broken off and 
was missing. I borrowed a piece of fence wire from a farmer 
and began fishing in the pan under the engine trying to find 
this missing piece of carbon. For a half hour or more I 
fished in the “mud” in the pan with such light as I could get 
from the oil dash lamp to aid me. I could not find the carbon. 
Realizing that I was up against it once more, I began cudgeling 
my brains to think of some plan whereby I could substitute 



174 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


something for the missing piece of carbon. I thought of 
breaking up one of my dry batteries and whittling out a 
piece of carbon from the dry battery. Then I thought of 
another and quicker expedient. I had a short stub of lead 
pencil in my vest pocket, and it occurred to me that possibly 
the graphite or carbon of this lead pencil might serve the 
purpose. This pencil was a very good one, one which, on ac¬ 
count of its good quality, I had kept by me a long time and 
used it down pretty short. It was a pencil that had been put 
out as an advertisement. The lead was medium hard. I cut 
off a short piece of it, whittled it down to a size that would 
go into the socket, and then cut away the wood on each end 
so that the lead would project for about a sixteenth of an inch 
beyond the wood. After considerable difficult I managed to 
insert this in the socket of the cap and piece and get it into 
position with one end of the graphite in contact in the socket 
and the other against the magneto revolving brass contact. 
When the clips were fastened holding the cap end plate in 
place the lead pencil made a beautiful contact at each end. 
Turning the engine over it started off immediately and ran 
as well as ever. I treasured the remaining half inch of the 
lead pencil as I expected that the small contact of the pencil 
which was in the magneto would wear off within a mile or 
so and I would have to insert another. To my surprise, the 
engine ran beautifully the remaining twelve miles home over 
rough country roads with half-frozen mud and water. The 
next morning I removed the lead pencil from the magneto 
to see what condition it was in and found that it had worn 
down but a very little. As figured from the distance I had 
run, this lead pencil would have served for a hundred miles. 

V. A. Chapman, Muskegon, Michigan. 

Improvised Steering Gear 

To operate a car with a broken sector shaft in the steering 
gear seems a pretty difficult problem, yet I did so once in the 
following manner: A bolt was removed from the flange which 
holds the steering-gear casing to the frame and a much longer 
one substituted, which I obtained from the body, it being used 
to hold the latter to the frame. This projected about two 
inches. Next I obtained a piece of wood about *i by 4 inches by 
about four feet long, through which I bored a hole to receive 
the bolt about eighteen inches from the end. This I placed in 
a vertical position and screwed the nut on loosely so as not to 
interfere with the wooden piece swinging freely. Next I bored 
a hole in the upper end of the same stick and bolted (using 
the bolt at first removed from the steering gear flange) a sec- 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD REPAIRS 


175 


one! piece loosely to the first one and long enough to reach to 
a convenient position from the seat. Then removing the nut 
at the back end of the steering link which connects the steer¬ 
ing gear to the front knuckle 1 disconnected this link and 
bound it firmly but flexibly to the lower end of the vertical 
stick. By pushing the second piece away from me as I sat 
in the seat it is easily seen that the link was drawn toward 
me and the car steered to the left, and vice versa I was able 
to run at a fair speed, and did so for a good many miles, 
reaching home with no further trouble. 

A cuff seems rather a poor substitute for a cylinder, yet I 
once made this substitution with quite satisfactory results 
On a four-cylinder air-cooler I once found myself up against 
the proposition of staying out all night when it was bitter cold 
or running my engine with one cylinder broken off just above 
the flange. The real problem lay in managing the loose parts 
which would fly around with the rotation of the shaft, and in 
preventing the loss of oil from the crank-case splash reser¬ 
voir. I solved the former by removing the connection rod¬ 
bearing cap and the piping to that cylinder, and putting the 
useless parts, namely, cylinder (upper part which was broken 
off) and piston rod, thus freed, in the tonneau and effec¬ 
tively prevented the loss of the precious lubricant by bolting 
my cuff under the cylinder flange, thus preventing the oil 
splashing out. The other three cylinders ran all right when 
I remembered to plug the open end of the intake manifold 
with waste. E. P. dP., Wilmington, Del. 

A Broken Rear Axle 

My most interesting experience with a breakdown was while 
on a run one Sunday from Washington to Baltimore. When 
going up a small hill, about nine miles from Baltimore, a wagon 
crossing over to the wrong side of the road in front of my car 
necessitated a sudden stop which resulted in the breaking of 
the left rear axle shaft close to the hub of the wheel. For¬ 
tunately, the brake bands held the wheel in place until the 
weight of the car could be taken by a jack. As nothing could 
be done with the car in its present condition, a trip was made 
to Baltimore in another machine to get assistance. I was 
there informed that the type of axle on my car necessitated 
the dismantling of the rear axle housing before installing a 
new shaft, that it was therefore impracticable to make a road¬ 
side repair, and that the best thing to do was to get the car 
to Baltimore. After considering several plans we obtained a 
heavy two-wheeled baggage truck and returned to the dam¬ 
aged car. Removing the iron feet from the truck, we placed 


176 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


it with the handles forward under the car so that the axle 
of the truck came directly under the broken axle. An accom¬ 
modating farmer gave us some blocks to place on the truck 
under the axle and also a heavy piece of wood to lay across 
the sills of the rear doors. By means of old rope we lashed 
the handles up as high as the footboard would permit and 
so that the weight would come as much as possible on the 
heavy piece of wood. The truck was also kept in position by 
lashings from the handles to both footboards. When the jack 
was removed the damaged axle rested very nicely on the 
truck. With the car thus repaired we towed it for about 
nine miles over hilly roads. Great care was necessary in 
going down hill to prevent collision with the towing car, as 
entire dependence had to be placed on the brakes of the right 
wheel. Before going down one steep hill the tow line was 
shifted and the damaged car made to tow the other car, the 
latter holding back when necessary. The use of the truck did 
no damage to the road. 

D. E. T., Washington, D. C. 

Some Clutch Trouble 

My most interesting and instructive experience in automobile 
breakdowns occurred while taking a trip from Clinton, N. J., 
to Birdsboro, Pa. Leaving Clinton on Sunday morning with our 
car in good working condition, we made the hundred-mile 
trip, taking in Easton, South Bethlehem and Boyerstown in very 
good time. 

After spending some time at Birdsboro, we started our re¬ 
turn trip late in the afternoon, coming back by way of Potts- 
town, Pa. 

Arriving at Pottstown, we stopped at a garage for gasoline 
and oil. On leaving the garage (this being a strange part of 
the country to us) I turned the car into the wrong street. In 
endeavoring to turn, after finding out the mistake, I had to, of 
course, put the car in reverse. At this operation the clutch 
failed to release, and shot the car backward over the sidewalk, 
on a lawn, coming within a few inches of striking the porch 
of the residence. 

Before going to the expense of having the car towed in, I 
decided I would try to work it to the garage myself. So, setting 
the gear in neutral position, I started the motor and forced it 
into low gear. Doing this started the car, and it carried us 
to the garage. 

I could get no help at the garage as it was 7:30 P. M., and 
the workmen refused to help until Monday morning. 

Being eighty-five miles from home and forced to have the 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD 


177 


load there by Monday morning early, I went to work myself 
to tear the transmission and clutch apart. In doing this, I 
found three plates in the clutch broken, one in six pieces, the 
others in halves. 

The machinist coming around at this time said that the 
clutch could not be fixed to move the car without new plates. 

But, deciding that I could repair the clutch temporarily, and 
get my car and load home, I thought by leaving the two plates 
which were broken in halves the way they were, as they did no 
particular harm, and by fixing the others, I could do so. 

Taking the third plate, which was broken in six pieces, I dis¬ 
carded three of them, and found that by drilling new holes in 
the other three I could put them on the studs that the opposite 
plates worked on, and thus take up the space, still leaving the 
spring in the same tension. 

Now, after doing this, I put the clutch and transmission to¬ 
gether, and was ready to test the work. At 11.30 P. M. I 
started the motor and ran for a distance of five miles around 
the town and decided the car was safe to carry us home. Re¬ 
turning to the garage. I gathered up the load, packed the car, 
and left at 12.40 for the homeward trip. With careful running 
and handling the gear and clutch, I succeeded in getting the 
load home in good time. Therefore, I learned that by using 
our own ingenuity we can overcome difficulties which at first 
seem impossible. Wm. J. Seals, Clinton, N. J. 


Brake Condition 

I have learned from my “breakdown” experiences on the 
road to keep my brakes in good working order so that they 
will stop the car instantly under any conditions. I was touring 
through New Jersey at the time of my mishap, going from 
Morristown to Hackettstown. We were going up Schooly 
Mountain, and when we were about half way up the mountain, 
at the spot which is known as “dead man’s curve,” we had to 
drop from third to second speed, but for some reason the gear 
wouldn’t budge. On applying the brakes I found that they 
wouldn’t stop the backward progress of the car in the least. 
As several cars were in back of me, I couldn’t back down the 
hill, so I ran the rear of the car into a stump, which put a 
stop to our backward progress. Looking over the back of the 
car we could look down on the chimneys of the houses lying 
below us in the valley. On looking at the brake bands I dis¬ 
covered that they were covered with grease. So when I go 
out now I always look at my brakes to see if they are in good 
working order. H. H. Work, Stratford, Conn. 


178 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


A Radiator Leak 

In breakdowns I have had no experience. I have driven 
50,000 miles and never been towed in yet. I have had road 
troubles, and in Florida, where you can drive 40 miles with¬ 
out any sign of habitation, no phones or railroads, you must 
have more than a passing knowledge of motors and the parts 
of a car. Among the first aid to the injured stunts I have used 
to advantage were: 

Radiator sprung a leak. While plenty of water could be 
had here and there, the leak got so bad that less than a half 
mile could be made without replenishing, and sometimes it 
was a hike for a mile to get the water from a pond or 
stream. Had no bucket. Used the bottom of my carbide gen¬ 
erator. As a last resort I used horse manure in the radiator. 
After boiling same by speeding motor and allowing the water 
to pass through leak, found the last of the sediment almost 
completely closed the leak, and when I next filled the radiator 
the leak had been almost stopped. I was able to come in 
twenty miles before replenishing. 

Another time I was short on gasoline. Like the painter who 
worked so fast to make his paint last longer, I speeded it up 
with full spark endeavoring to get into town. A mile out, and 
a mile from a ’phone, the machine made its last spurt. I took 
the top off the tank made a cork out of a piece of wood, inserted 
the tubing off the gas generator through the cork and had my 
companion blow. This forced pressure on the gasoline brought 
me into town. Also, I cleaned out the carbureter before I 
started the engine again—had to. I had blown all the sedi¬ 
ment out of the tank into the pipes. 

W. B. Powell, Tampa, Fla. 

Experience in Mud 

Conditions outside the fault of one’s car are sometimes met 
with which tax the ingenuity of the driver fully as great as the 
most baffling breakdown. Foolishly dispensing with a map, de¬ 
pending upon wayside guide-posts and local information, I 
started for a place some fifty miles out of town, expecting to 
make the hotel by sundown. There is an excellent pike to this 
place, but unluckily we took the wrong lead. The road we 
stock was one of the worst I had ever seen pictures of. No 
auto had ever been in those parts. At every stop the natives 
crowded around in awed wonderment. We had breathed a 
prayer at every deliverance from successive mud holes. A mile 
and a half from our destination we dropped to both rear hubs 
in a lake of gumbo. I worked till dark alone, when two men 
arrived in a buggy and lent their efforts for an hour without 


COMMON AND UNCOMMON ROAD 


179 


avail. One went for horses, but returned only with a board 
and stout rope. They proved of no assistance for another hour 
of gruelling labor, when I hit upon a scheme. Doubling the 
rope, the bight was looped over the end of the plank and 
brought over the top, the separate strands going on either 
side of the wheel were tied to the spokes at the hub and 
forced down in the mud to the rim. The turn of the wheel 
pulled the plank under it, giving it a secure base, and out we 
rolled. B. L. Forse, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 





CHAPTER XIII 


WINTER DRIVING AND 
MAINTENANCE 

MAKING WINTER THE SAME AS SUMMER 

TT is a human characteristic to think of one’s self first and 
-*• such things as automobiles later, so the motorist must look 
into the matter of proper protection to himself and passengers. 
The first matter which presents itself is that of an enclosure 
such as a winter top, a new body with permanent roof or an 
open body with new curtains which are better than the ordinary 
ones for keeping out the cold. I have concluded that it is 
utterly impossible to get fireside comfort without a car heater 
of some type and either a demountable top or a convertible 
body. Even the latter without a heater makes it necessary for 
the passengers to take on the appearance of esquimaux. Addi¬ 
tional robes, special clothing and shoe covers will not be necessary 
if the car is enclosed and a good heater installed. There are 
numerous types of heaters, but the type using exhaust gas is the 
cheapest to operate and gives excellent results. It is the standard 
type. There are arguments for and against different forms of 
exhaust-type heaters such as the register or the foot-rail, etc., 
but any one of these with a good gas control will make the 
interior of the car like your own living room. It is necessary to 
get a good heater because some of the designs either heat too 
much or little. In the first case the passengers roast and the 
shoes are scorched and in the latter they are cold. The heater 
should be one which can be easily dismantled and cleaned so 
that any accumulation of carbon can be taken out. The carbon 
acts as an insulator and then the heater is not effective. The 
fitting of the heater is an easy matter. If it is of the floor type 
there should be no space around it to permit of cold air and dirt 
entering the car. Heater prices are comparatively low, ranging 
from $5 to about $15 for front or rear types. The owner who 
drives his own car or who is at all considerate of the chauffeur 
will have a heater installed in the front compartment as well as 
in the rear. 

Driving gloves are a necessity whether the car is heated or 
not and it will be to the benefit of the particular motorist to 
examine the newer types made especially for winter work, or 

180 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


181 


upon inquiry to MoToR information will be given as to prices, 
materials, etc. In case the use of gloves does not suffice, the 
market affords a number of devices for warming the steering 
wheel at points where the hands grip. Most of these devices are 
operated by electricity taken from the storage battery or in the 
case of the Ford from the magneto. 

A robe is of course essential and if the car is not properly 
heated an extra robe may be necessary. Some owners are satis¬ 
fied with one good robe wrapped around them, but the average 
woman remaining in a car for any length of time in cold 
weather will require more than this to give the highest degree of 
comfort. 

To the careful driver there is no more danger connected with 
winter work than with spring touring, but nevertheless due care 
should be exercised and one way of doing this is to have a wind¬ 
shield cleaner installed, or make some provision for having the 
shield perfectly clean. Snow flakes mottle the pane so that it is 
almost impossible for some drivers to see twenty feet ahead 
unless the shield is opened, in which case the drivers get cold 
and uncomfortable. There are numerous types of shield cleaners, 
some good and some worthless. It really does not pay to buy 
a poorly made one, because when installed it actually becomes a 
nuisance rather than a benefit. 

For safety, comfort and pleasure it is necessary that certain 
matters pertaining to the car be given due consideration and of 
primary importance is the cooling system. In fact, when winter 
arrives the owner’s first thought is of an anti-freeze mixture. 
In the past a great many owners have been making their own 
solutions from alcohol, glycerine and water, or perhaps just 
alcohol and water, but during the past year or so, some very 
excellent anti-freeze compounds have been introduced all ready 
to pour into the water system. This is much better thanrnaking 
up solution, especially in view of the fact that the cost is about 
the same or less without the bother. With alcohol used as a 
base in nearly all solutions and the price of this product being 
very high at this time, owners may be inclined toward using a 
substitute such as calcium chloride. T.his is not advised, how¬ 
ever, because of the chance of damaging the engine. MoToR 
will glady send to interested readers formulae for anti-freeze 
solutions, or the names of concerns offering made-up solutions 
and compounds which have proved effective. 

Winter work is eased to an extent by the use of a thermostatic 
control of the cooling water, or a radiator shutter or the com¬ 
bination, but most owners are not in a position to have these 
installed. Whether a device of this kind is used or not, a 
radiator and hood cover does much toward keeping the engine 
warm; in fact, some believe the cover alone sufficient especially 


182 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


when stops are not of long duration. Nearly every maker of 
these is in a position to supply them so they fit snugly. 

The owner who once has experienced winter battery troubles 
needs little coaching. A drop in temperature has the effect of 
reducing battery output and with an insufficiently charged battery 
and zero temperature there is liable to be freezing of the electro¬ 
lyte with consequent destruction of the battery. Keep the battery 
up to charge all the time, and if necessary have the garage or 
service station charge it once every three weeks. The lights are 
used more in winter, the battery must supply more current in 
starting because of the stiffer engine and the cold tends to hold 
down the output. Under these conditions it becomes necessary 
to give the greatest attention to the battery. 

Pracically all owners are agreed that driving during the winter 
is just one scare after another unless adequate tire chain equip¬ 
ment is used. Tire overshoes or covers are very useful, and 
lastly, there is priming equipment so as to facilitate starting the 
engine. All the joy of winter work is lost if one must half 
exhaust the battery before the engine will fire. With the battery 
in the very pink of condition there must be an explosive mixture 
in the cylinders otherwise the engine will not start. Many 
owners after a few performances at one a. m. on a zero night 
vow they never again will take the car out unless there is some 
provision for getting a fire easily, but the forgetting habit is 
characteristic of many drivers. 

One of the easiest ways of getting easy starting is to use a 
dash priming outfit consisting of a small tank and control and 
piping to the inlet manifold. With the tank filled with a highly 
volatile fuel such as may be bought from an oil dealer, there is 
in reserve a fuel which will fire in the very coldest of weather. 
It does not matter so much from which crude the fuel is obtained 
so long as its initial boiling point is low, which means that it 
will volatilize at a low temperature. If no fuel of this kind is 
used then the driver must prime with the ordinary fuel and use 
a great deal of it so that in the large quantity used there will be 
sufficient of low boiling point to give an explosion. 

In addition to the tank arrangement there is a type of primer 
which taps the main fuel line. When the primer is operated a 
volume of fuel is injected into the inlet manifold and with the 
starter turning the engine over at the same time a good priming 
charge is sucked into the cylinders. This method does not, how¬ 
ever, give any better results than priming through the petcocks, 
but it is much more convenient since it is operated from the 
dash. The idea of getting as much heat as possible to the fuel 
or mixture is good, but some of the devices used for obtaining 
this result are far from saisfactory. Various methods are em¬ 
ployed, most of them depending upon the heat given off from a 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 183 

coil through which a current is passing. In many of these devices 
the heat is far too little to have any effect whatever on the fuel. 

Of course, initial starting from the garage in the morning, 
presents no particular difficulties when a garage heater is used 
or when there is a heater of some sort under the hood to keep 
the cooling water at a reasonably high temperature, but starting 
on the street after the car has been standing for a few hours in 
zero weather is what calls for due care on the part of the 
owner. It seems childish advice to say that when a garage 
heater or anti-freeze mixture is not used the radiator should be 
drained at night to prevent injury to the engine, but then many 
of the first-timers might overlook this. Also when there is no 
garage heater and the system is drained at night, hot water 
should be used in the morning so that starting will be facilitated. 

Owners should bear in mind that the starting problem becomes 
more severe as the temperature drops and as the altitude in¬ 
creases, so that those owners who live in extremely cold sections 
or at high altitudes should be doubly careful in selecting the 
proper equipment. The foregoing applies particularly to the 
motorist who makes as much use of his car in winter as in 
summer, but much of the advice will apply equally as well to 
the owner who will use his car at no definite intervals, taking it 
out as inclination or weather dictate. This owner should make 
it a point to take good care of the battery, giving it a charge 
in the car once every week. If a service station is convenient, 
the battery should be left there and called for when necessary. 
The tires also will need a little extra attention and it is sug¬ 
gested that they be kept away from the floor by the use of tire¬ 
saving jacks. It might be well to remove them on the rims and 
place them in a dark room, but then there is the bother of re¬ 
mounting. „ This owner should have a quantity of anti-freeze 
solution either in the car or ready to be poured in. The latter 
is best because when in a sealed can there is less evaporation. 

It is quite true that the number of cars is exceedingly small 
which in these advanced days is propped up on jacks awaiting 
the coming of the ground hog, but then their owners have a few 
matters which require their attention. Driving the car into the 
garage and leaving it there until spring is to increase the rate 
of depreciation considerably, but while this sort of practice is 
rare it nevertheless is not far removed from that in which the 
owner does everything necessary for the complete protection of 
the car and its accessories. 

If a car is to be laid up all winter it is necessary, of course, 
to drain the gasoline and water systems completely, leaving the 
caps off so that any remaining liquid which cannot be drained 
will be evaporated off. The oil in the engine, in the clutch, 
gearset and rear axle should not be drained, in fact, it even is a 


184 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


good plan to fill the gearset and rear axle completely, so as to 
cover the gears entirely. The car should be given a thorough 
cleaning, starting with a good wash all over body and chassis 
and then going over it again to remove all caked mud and dirt 
in corners and crevices. With the car as clean as you can get it, 
jack up all four wheels, remove the tires with rims, and take 
out the tubes. The latter should be partly inflated, just sufficient 
to give them normal shape. 

The casings should be wiped clean. Both casings and tubes 
should be covered with cloth and placed in a dark room in the 
house. If desired the tubes may be inserted in the casings and 
stored in the same fashion. Parts which are likely to rust should 
be cleaned, dried and spread with cup grease or vaseline. The 
storage battery should be removed and taken to a battery service 
station. Here obtain the advice of the manager as to the best 
way to store the battery, whether in a dry state, dismantled, or 
as it is. All terminals disconnected should be cleaned and 
spread with grease. 

Some owners, who are fortunate enough to have work shop 
facilities, spend their spare time during the winter making- 
necessary repairs. Whether work is done or not the whole car 
should be covered with a special paper cover or with cloth. 
One of the most disagreeable tasks is to work around a car in a 
cold garage, so the imperativeness of a garage heater at once 
becomes apparent. There are numerous types including those 
using coal, kerosene, gas, hot water, etc. 


COLD WEATHER STARTING 


HE difficulty of starting a gasoline motor in cold weather is 



-*■ due to two causes: first, the gasoline being cold does not 
vaporize so readily, and second, it is a well-known fact that 
cold air has not the same power to hold or take up liquids in 
suspension as has warm air. In other words, its saturation 
point is lowered at reduced temperatures. 

It is the combination of these two causes, aided by a cold 
motor and piping, which make it so difficult to start the motor 
in cold weather. The best method of starting a motor will vary 
with the type of carbureter used. Where both the initial and 
auxiliary air enter by a common opening, any system of choking 
this opening will usually suffice. Where, however, the auxiliary 
air supply is separate; it serves no useful purpose to choke or' 
strangle the main air passage, for then the motor will simply 
take its air (and no gasoline) through the auxiliary air valve. 



WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


185 


In most cases a small oil-can filled with 76° gasoline will 
help considerably, by making it easy to prime the cylinders 
through the priming cocks. One of the most reliable ways of 
starting in cold weather is to drill a hole in the intake mani¬ 
fold, directly above the vertical tube, and fit this with a prim¬ 
ing cock. Open the cock and insert the oil-can filled with 
gasoline into the opening, then close the throttle almost com¬ 
pletely. The gasoline will run down the side of the intake 
pipe and accumulate above the closed throttle. Upon craiiK- 
ing the motor the velocity of the inrushing air is highest just 
around the edges of the almost entirely closed throttle, and if 
there is any gasoline at this point it will invariably start the 
motor. After the motor is well started remove the priming 
can, and don’t forget to close the priming cock. 

R. F. B., St. Louis, Mo. 

High Test Auxiliary Tank 

The difficult starting of a gasoline engine in cold weather 
is due to several causes, the chief of which is the fact that the 
gasoline is not readily evaporated in cold air. The process of 
evaporation or vaporization requires heat and induces a low¬ 
ered temperature in the surroundings, as can be observed 
readily by feeling of the carbureter on even a hot summer day 
after the engine has been run awhile. The grade of gasoline 
used also has a great deal to do with the ease of starting a 
motor in cold weather. With the common and poorer grades 
of gasoline, which are approaching nearer to kerosene each 
year, the difficulty of starting is becoming more pronounced, 
since the poorer the grade of gasoline the more heat is re¬ 
quired to vaporize it. 

To overcome these causes of poor starting there are several 
methods of procedure which I shall outline below: 

1. Keep the car in a warm place over night and do not 
allow it to stand for long intervals in the cold outside air 
with the engine stopped. 

2. Use a very high test gasoline in the cold weather. The 
great drawback to this method is the very high cost and the 
difficulty of obtaining and keeping this grade of gasoline in 
quantities. 

3. Inject into the cylinders themselves a sufficient amount 
of gasoline so that enough will vaporize and mix with the air 
enclosed to form a mixture that will explode and start the 
engine. 

4. Obtain a carbureter so designed that a sufficient velocity 
of the incoming air past the spraying nozzle can be obtained 
upon cranking the engine to carry enough gasoline in the* 


186 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


form of a mechanical mixture into the cylinders to form an 
explosive mixture with the air enclosed. 

5. Inject a small amount of ether into the carbureter just 
before cranking the engine. This method will be . found to 
work well, but care must be taken not to inject too much. 

6. The method which I now give I believe to be the only 
logical solution of this starting difficulty for a car which must 
be run under the average conditions have a small auxiliary 
supply tank on the car in which to carry very high test gaso¬ 
line. Connect this tank with the carbureter, as well as the 
regular supply tank, so that either grade of gasoline can be let 
into the carbureter by means of a cock which can be located 
on the dash. The feed can then be shifted from one tank to 
the other so as to get the high test gasoline for starting. 

Roy A. Wheeler, Milwaukee, Wis. 

“Many Inventions” 

Since gasoline does not vaporize at low temperatures, and 
since it is explosive only when in the form of a vapor, it fol¬ 
lows that a cold engine will not start as readily as a warm 
one. 

Definite methods of cold weather starting may be classified 
as priming, with gasoline or something else, and applying 
heat so as to render priming unnecessary. When we prime a 
cylinder with gasoline we introduce a much larger quantity 
than is necessary to one explosion, and because of the large 
amount there is a certain amount of vapor formed in spite of 
the low temperature. When the motor is cranked and a spark 
occurs there will be an explosion which will heat the cylinder 
a little so that of the next charge introduced, whether by 
means of the priming can or from the carbureter, a larger 
proportion will be vaporized. It will be evident that if the 
motor is cold enough this process will be of no value. If the 
priming be done with high test gasoline or with either, both 
of which vaporizes at lower temperatures than the standard 
grades of gas, priming will be more effective, or will be effect¬ 
ive at a lower temperature. If the priming be done with an 
explosive gas, as acetylene, which retains its explosive quali¬ 
ties at low temperatures, it will make little difference how 
cold the motor is, but enough of the gas will need to be sup¬ 
plied to run the motor until it is fairly warm. 

If on the other hand we heat the cylinders enough, through 
the water jacket, priming will be unnecessary. 

If. however, a non-freezing mixture is being used in the 
cooling system, it is decidedly unhandy to drain it out, put in 
hot water, start the motor, drain out the hot water and re- 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


187 


place the non-freezing fluid. In some motors this may be 
avoided by applying heat to the carbureter and the intake 
manifold. In one case a teakettle of boiling water poured 
over carbureter and intake has been found an almost infallible 
method of getting the motor to start. 

The routine use of high test gasoline in winter will do much 
to make starting easy if one cares to pay the price. It is in 
effect the same thing as raising the temperature several de¬ 
grees, as it volatizes at a much lower temperature than the 
standard grades. Or, a tank with a little high test gas in it 
may be installed on the dash and piped to the cylinders so as 
to inject a charge of it into the cylinders when desired. Of 
course the priming can will do the same thing but this is much 
more convenient. Many of the ignition starters now in use 
have a means of feeding acetylene into the intake until the 
motor is warm enough to use the gasoline vapor from the car¬ 
bureter. In fact we have numerous acquaintances who have 
installed and are using ignition starters solely as priming 
devices, believing “starting on the spark” to be injurious to 
the motor. 

There are now on the market electrical devices which 
undertake to keep the water in the cooling system at a tem¬ 
perature which will make for easy starting no matter how 
cold the surrounding air. An ingenious adaption of this 
idea is to wrap around the lower water pipe between the 
radiator and engine one of those electric “hot water bags,” 
leaving the current turned on enough of the time to keep the 
water warm. This scheme is cheap, clean, and does not in¬ 
terfere with the use of a non-freezing fluid. 

It is of course difficult to say to what extent the ignition 
starter will supplant, this winter, the teakettle and the prim¬ 
ing can, which in previous winters have been the stand-by of 
the cold weather motorist. 

Dr. C. D. Enfield, Jefferson, Iowa. 

CURES 

In order to obtain a good “explosive” mixture, it is neces¬ 
sary to have gasoline vapor combined with air in the proper 
proportions, or within the rather narrow limits between a 
“rich” and a “lean” mixture, and because gasoline does not 
readily vaporize at a low temperature, it is somewhat difficult 
to obtain a mixture that will “fire” on a cold day. 

The writer understands that “self-starters” are not to be 
considered in answering this question, since the turning of the 
motor by electricity, air or springs—or the warmth produced 
by explosions of acetylene modifies the problem a good deal, 


188 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


hence we will confine our discussion to the regular, old-fash¬ 
ioned “turn-the-crank, Jimmy” kind of car. 

There are two general methods of procedure in trying to 
obtain a starting mixture during cold weather. One is to get 
a greater amount of gasoline into the cylinder, hoping thereby 
to get enough vapor to “start something” and the other is to 
warm the carbureter intake or cylinders, or all of them, so 
as to produce better vaporization, without introducing extra 
fuel. 

Perhaps the commonest known method of adding gasoline 
is that of dropping a spoonful or two into each petcock, if the 
car has any, and then turning her over to get the liquid down. 
This is not always so easy as it may sound, and in some cars 
most of the “gas” is apt to leave by way of the exhaust valve 
route. Some drivers remove the spark plugs, and inject the 
liquid with an oil gun; but this method is laborious, may re¬ 
sult in getting in entirely too much gasoline, and may also 
result (remember your hands are cold!) in a cracked porce¬ 
lain, and broken resolutions about language. Both of the 
above methods, however, are used by many drivers with suc¬ 
cess. 

Some carbureters are equipped with regulating devices 
which can be set so as to furnish almost any desired amount 
of “gas,” and the difficulties are slight in such cases. 

The writer has found that a very simple and effective meth¬ 
od can be used with some cars, as. follows: Saturate a piece 
of cloth with gasoline, and place it so that the air entering the 
auxiliary air valve must pass through or around this cloth, 
but do not let the cloth be drawn in so as to stop up the intake 
passage. Then “spin” the engine as rapidly as possible, and 
frequently it will start after a few turns. Remove the cloth 
slowly after the engine is going well. 

The simplest ways of heating the carbureter, cylinders, etc., 
are to wrap hot cloths about them, and to pour hot water into 
the circulating system and “turn her over.” 

L. I. W., New York City. 


ANTI-FREEZING SOLUTIONS 

Y/1EWED from a practical experience the use of anti-freezing 
* solutions in the cooling system of an automobile has been of 
such benefit as to make any question of its being worth while 
seem forced. Driving a car all the year round, keeping it in an 
unheated house, in a latitude where the thermometer has been 
known to touch ten below zero, it has been a case of drain or 



WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


189 


use “anti-freeze.” Draining the car is a nuisance, and one al¬ 
ways has the fear that a pocket is left full of water. In addi¬ 
tion, when standing idle, out in freezing weather, the engine 
must be heavily blanketed; or started frequently. And it is al¬ 
ways on your mind. 

The disadvantages of an anti-freezing solution are nil if the 
proper article is used. Glycerine attacks rubber and is com¬ 
paratively costly. Calcium chloride will form crystals which 
are disquieting to behold every time the filler cap is removed, 
and must eventually lessen the efficiency of the radiator, if 
nothing worse. 

Alcohol, in its denatured form, is a very cheap insurance 
against cracked cylinders, leaking radiators, and damaged 
pumps. Theoretically, it lowers the boiling point of the cool¬ 
ing compound; practically, there is nothing abnormal in the 
running conditions, as the colder weather offsets the drop. 
Alcohol is clean, non-explosive, and does not injure the hands. 
Its presence in the water system is evidenced only by the smell. 
Forty-five cents a gallon, and from three to four gallons being 
ample for a winter’s use, in a tight system, makes its cost 
inconsiderable. 

The proper way to use alcohol for an “anti-freeze” is to add 
in small quantities, say about two quarts at a time, from the 
period when freezing may be expected, till the maximum 
amount needed, for the coldest weather known to the region 
in which the car is used, has been put in, and then ,as spring 
approaches use water only when replenishing. 

A good way to insure peace of mind, is to draw off from the 
radiator some of the liquid, add one-quarter its volume of 
water, put in a bottle, cork, and set outside one’s window. You 
then have a gauge which will give ample warning. Of course, 
as you change the mixture, refill the bottle. At the risk of 
inviting carelessness, let it be known that when the compound 
does freeze, it will not be a solid, but slush, through which a 
finger may be easily thrust, and which would seem to possess 
little or no “bursting” power. 

The following table is sufficiently close for all practical pur¬ 
poses. 

10% mixture freezes at about +25 0 F. 

20% “ “ “ “ +100 F. 

30% “ “ “ “ — 5 ° F. 

40% “ “ “ “ —200 F. 

Henry Moore, N. Y. City. 

No Question About Its Value 

From the viewpoint of a medico, who belongs to the most 
practical class of motorists, there can be no question as to 


190 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


whether an anti-freezing solution should be employed or not. 
To the motorist whose car is a means to^ his livelihood, pro¬ 
tection against freezing is absolutely indispensable. The 
machine must be ready for service at all times—it must fre¬ 
quently be abandoned just as it stops at the patient’s door, 
and it is nothing unusual for it to stand for hours at a time 
unprotected. Unless safeguarded by an anti-freezing solution 
damage is sure to result, sooner or later. Draining the radia¬ 
tor at night is out of the question; the car may be needed for 
an emergency call at any hour, and much valuable time would 
be wasted in filling up, not to speak of the inconvenience. 

Even if draining and re-filling were merely a matter of turn¬ 
ing a faucet, there would be little excuse for not using an anti¬ 
freezing solution instead. But neither operation is so simple, 
every car that I have had any experience with has had one 
drain cock in an inaccessible position. Getting at it meant 
dirtying a glove and sleeve or burning one’s hand against a 
hot part of the motor in an attempt to save the glove. 

When I first discarded the buggy and “hay motor” for a gas¬ 
oline runabout, I experimented with several different anti¬ 
freezing solutions—in fact, all of them that are commercially 
practical. As a result of this experience, I settled upon a solu¬ 
tion of glycerine, denatured alcohol and water, and it has 
always proved effective as a preventive of freezing and gen¬ 
erally satisfactory from the practical point of view. 

The radiator of my car holds fourteen quarts, or three and 
a half gallons. On the approach of cold weather, two auarts 
of glycerine are added. This replaces a little over one quart 
of water when liquefied under the influence of the heat, i. e„ 
it becomes a much thinner liquid than when originally put in 
the radiator. With the next drop in temperature, another 
pound of glycerine is added. All of this glycerine is first tested 
for acidity with litmus paper, and if at all acid it is neu¬ 

tralized by the addition of a small amount of a saturated solu¬ 
tion of bicarbonate of soda. This may be prepared at a cost 
of ten cents by dumping a pound of bicarbonate of soda into 
about two quarts of water. Neutralizing the solution prevents 
damage to the hose connections. An M. D. cannot afford to 
have his car spring a leak unexpectedly. 

With the addition of the third pound of glycerine, the solu¬ 
tion is about io per cent, proof, and is effective protection 

against early winter temperatures, say down to io or 15 de¬ 
grees Fahr. At the time when real cold weather is due, a 
gallon of denatured alcohol is substituted for that much water 
in the radiator. It will be apparent that drawing off this 

water takes with it a proportionate amount of the glycerine, 
say one pound. The solution is then composed of four quarts 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


101 


of alcohol, one quart of glycerine and nine quarts of water. 
In other words, more than 33 per cent, of it is liquid that will 
only congeal at a very low temperature, so that the freezing 
point is considerably below zero and consequently safe in all 
weather encountered in this part of the country. The solu¬ 
tion is kept up to its original degree of efficiency by addition 
of denatured alcohol from time to time. If preferred, glycer¬ 
ine can be depended upon altogether. Its chief value in con¬ 
nection with denatured alcohol is that it raises the boiling 
point of the solution, thus counteracting the effect of the alco¬ 
hol in this respect and prevents the latter from boiling away 
too fast. Harry P. Evans, New York City 

Extensive Experience 

The temperature in Detroit during the winter months for 
several years past has never gone lower than five or ten de¬ 
grees below zero. 

The Detroit Taxicab Company, which was formerly called 
the “Auto Express Company,” and carried on a package de¬ 
livery business, has always had more or less trouble with 
radiators freezing during the very severe winter. One year 
we tried to get along without any freezing solution whatso¬ 
ever and instructed drivers to allow their motors to run while 
the cars were standing still. It is needless to say that we had 
our troubles during that winter. 

We have tried nearly everything that has been suggested for 
a non-freezing solution, such as calcium chloride, glycerine 
and wood alcohol, glycerine and water and denatured alcohol. 
Last winter we ordered from the Michigan Drug Company 
some seven or eight barrels of denatured alcohol, and it was 
the first winter we have gone through where we have had 
absolutely no freezing radiators. During the winter of 
1908, we used glycerine and water, and we found that the 
glycerine in a very short time would eat or rot the hose con¬ 
nections which connected motor with radiator, and solution 
would be lost, and we also found that glycerine would eat out 
some of the soldering and allow the solution to leak out. Last 
winter, as stated, we used denatured alcohol only and had ab¬ 
solutely no trouble and we have this year ordered five barrels 
from the Michigan Drug Company as an installment for our 
winter use. 

We have some sixty-five cars, four of which are used by 
the United States Government for the carrying of mail be¬ 
tween the main postoffice and sub-stations, and the balance of 
the cars are taxicabs and touring cars; these cars are all manu- 


192 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


factured by the Olds Motor Works, of Lansing, Mich., and 
their radiators have a capacity of about five gallons. 

During the severe weather when the thermometer is hover¬ 
ing somewhere about five degrees above zero, we watch our 
solution very carefully, and we have two hydrometers for test¬ 
ing it, and on account of some evaporation of the alcohol we 
test every day. 

After having tried calcium chloride, glycerine and various 
non-freezing solutions, which have been offered for years past, 
we do not hesitate to say denatured alcohol is the only product 
we have ever been able to use and use successfully. Last year 
we purchased, as said before, a number of barrels from the 
Michigan Drug Company, and I think the price we paid was 
43 cents per gallon; this year we have placed our order, as 
already noted, for five barrels at 43 cents per gallon. 

We have never used oil for a non-freezing solution, but have 
seen it tried with very disastrous results. In one particular 
instance I recall where a car came into the garage and was 
allowed to run for some little time in a heated room, and the 
oil overflowed the tank in some manner, and set the car on 
fire. 

I. S. Scrimger, 

Gen. Mgr. Detroit Taxicab Co. 

Reserve Tanks Used Vulcanizer to Heat Mixture 

The feeling that a reserve supply of gasoline and lubricating 
oil gives is not, to say the least, depressing. 

As the supply of our car was not up to the standard, I pro¬ 
cured a five-gallon and a one-gallon can and some ordinary 
copper tubing. The cans I securely located under the rear seat 
by strips of sheet iron bolted onto the body. Then I connected 
the main tank to the reserve (as it now was), adding five 
gallons to the capacity of our car. 

The smaller tank I connected to the crank case by boring a 
hole about two inches below the cylinders, making one joint 
iti the line, where I placed a switch to reserve the lubricating 
oil until needed. 

An ordinary vulcanizer can be and was used by myself to 
heat the mixture in cold weather in a very short time, to such 
an extent that the engine started very easily, the vulcanizer 
laid or tied against the carbureter, with a cloth wrapped 
around. O. W., Baltimore, Md. 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


193 


SURE SHOT STARTING IN WINTER 

r | A HERE is one substance which, when used as a priming fluid, 
will give firing on the first turn over in the coldest weather 
which prevails in our states, and that substance is ether. This 
may be commercial ether, or petroleum ether, a highly volatile 
product of petroleum. Its use even in weather as cold as fifty de¬ 
grees below zero will give sufficient vaporization without the use 
of outside heat to start the motor, providing of course that there 
P a spark to ignite the charge. This liquid may be purchased in 
mod good drug shops. The same results will be had by the use 
of 76 degree gasoline, and this must be bought from an oil dealer 
or drug shop. These liquids may be used alone or mixed with an 
equal quantity of ordinary gasoline, but it is evident that better 
results will be obtained by using them unadulterated. 

The priming with ether may be done in the regular way by 
allowing a small quantity to flow into the cylinders through the 
pet cocks or other cylinder openings, but a much better and sim¬ 
pler method is to install a dash priming outfit. If the owner does 
not wish to install the dash primer, a small supply of this liquid 
may be carried in an air-tight can under the seat or in a pocket, 
and when it is necessary to prime a little may be poured into 
an oil can. 

However, the priming can on the dash not only makes a con¬ 
venient holder for a season’s supply of the priming fluid, but also 
makes starting easier because it may be operated from the seat. 

Many run into the error of believing that the gravity of the 
gasoline purchased is a true indication of its volatility, and hence 
its easy-firing ability, but this is not quite true unless perhaps the 
comparison is made between gasolines obtained from the same 
crude. It is wrong to suppose that gasoline of 65 degrees obtained 
from western or Texas crude will give the same results in start¬ 
ing as gasoline of the same gravity obtained from Pennsylvania 
crude. It is unfortunate that the only true indication of the easy- 
starting abilty of gasoline is its initial boiling point, because when 
purchasing gasoline one cannot tell what the initial boiling point 
may be. Gasoline is a mixture of various compounds, and when 
gasoline is heated, the lightest of these compounds is first evapor¬ 
ated off. As the gasoline is further heated, a slightly heavier 
portion evaporates, and as heating continues the heavier and 
heavier portions follow. When the initial 'boiling point is low, 
from 75 to 85 degrees F, the fuel will fire easily because a certain 
portion of it volatilizes at a comparatively low temperature. 
When the initial boiling point is high, a great deal of heat is 
necessary to get any of the liquid to volatilize, and in the gasoline 


194 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


now being sold in the east ( 60-65 degrees Baume) the initial 
boiling point is high. In other words, this so-called low-grade 
gasoline does not contain enough of the low-boiling point liquid, 
and hence when it is desired to start we must either get enough 
heat to the fuel so as to strike its initial boiling point, or we must 
prime with it in the hope that in the fuel used for priming there 
may be a little of low-boiling point which will start the firing. 

Many owners find it unnecessary even to prime the cylinders 
with ordinary gasoline or a fuel of high volatility because the 
car is not left standing long enough. There really are a few prob¬ 
lems to be discussed. There is the owner who in c-old weather 
never allows his car to venture more than a mile from the garage, 
others who curb the car for four and five hours and still others 
who keep the motor running for the few hours the car is used at 
night. Some do not care to use any but the old-fashioned meth¬ 
ods of obtaining easy starting, while others insist upon a dash 
primer and various fuel-heating appliances. 

What the motorist is most concerned with is to obtain easy 
starting after the car has been standing for a few hours in the 
open. In the garage during the day the situation is more easily 
controlled. However, the early morning start even from the 
garage is sometimes attended with difficulties, which many of us 
have not been able wholly to overcome. If a reliable heater is 
used in the garage, there should be no trouble for the temperature 
of the building may be kept at any desired point, so that starting 
is no more difficult than on a warm day. There are many owners, 
however, whose garages are barns, unheated and perhaps not 
completely tight to the assaults of wind and weather. For the 
owner of this type of car shelter, the time-honored and still re¬ 
liable methods of encouraging vaporization are best. Where an 
anti-freeze mixture is not used, the radiator should be drained 
every night. When such a mixture is employed, the draining 
may be done in the morning and into the empty water system 
boiling water is poured, producing enough heat to make starting 
easy, especially if the cylinders are primed in the ordinary way 
and the carbureter air choker is closed. After the start is assured 
the anti-freeze mixture is returned to the water system. 

Some owners drain the motor at night and start in the morning 
by flooding and priming, allowing the engine to run with an empty 
water system for a few minutes. This gives the metal a chance 
to absorb some heat and the motor is thus quickly warmed. 

With the fuels that are generally used at the present time, a 
great deal of heat is necessary to give satisfactory results. Ob¬ 
viously in these circumstances the mere wrapping of a hot cloth 
around the manifold is not enough. This method heats 
the manifold slightly, but not sufficiently to vaporize any 
portion of the present day low grade fuel. Moreover, this 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


395 


method is only applicable to garage use, as few of us can obtain 
hot cloths when we happen to stop in the street. The needs of the 
case really simmer down to an extremely volatile fuel such as 
petroleum ether or a very hot manifold, the heat of which will 
vaporize a much heavier fuel. This latter condition may be pro¬ 
duced by playing a blow torch on the manifold, but this pro¬ 
cedure is a little dangerous to be recommended to the average car 
owner. At any rate the whole problem with heavy fuels is to get 
a sufficient degree of heat in the carburetion system to give partial 
or total vaporization of the fuel. Lacking heat we must get an 
excess of ordinary fuel or a little fuel of high volatility into the 
cylinders. 

Many makes of cars are not fitted with really efficient car¬ 
buretors having dash air controls, and this makes the ordinary 
starting problems all the more difficult. On the other hand some 
modern motors are not easy to start, even with controls of all 
kinds. One of the best things an owner can do, whether he has 
an old or a new car, is to install a priming device of some sort 
which may be operated from the seat. A device of this sort hav¬ 
ing especial merit consists of an air-tight metal container holding 
about two quarts and connected by one pipe with a hand pump 
which protrudes through the dash and having access to the intake 
manifold through another pipe. By operating the pump plunger, 
gasoline or a mixture of gasoline and petroleum ether is forced 
directly into the manifold. This type of primer may be used with 
a fuel of high volatility and two quarters of it should last for a 
long time. 

Where an electric system is used starting becomes as easy in 
winter as in summer, when an injector and a light fuel is em¬ 
ployed as indicated above. Manufacturers of motor car ac¬ 
cessories are fully aware of the efficiency of this type of device, 
and many of them are now offered which require little time for 
installation. If the owner is handy with tools, it is an easy 
matter for him to construct such a priming outfit. 

Such a device and liquid should be particularly desirable when 
the motor is not fitted with priming cocks or combination spark 
plug and primer. In the Ford for example one must remove 
the spark plugs to prime the cylinders, and hence a dash primer 
will facilitate matters greatly. Even where priming cocks are 
used, the dash-controlled device is preferred because it offers an 
easy method of carrying a supply of high-volatility fuel, and does 
not require lifting the hood. 

Aside from the priming idea special heating devices have some 
value In most of these electric current is used to bring a heating 
coil within the manifold, to a high temperature, and as the air 
becomes heated it offers an opportunity for the fuel globules to 


196 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


become vaporized. There are a number of air and fuel-heating 
devices on the market, some of which have merit. 

It would be the ideal condition if the temperature of the water 
in the jackets could be kept at a predetermined constant degree, 
obviating any difficulty in starting from the curb, but unfortu¬ 
nately this is not now possible. We can, however, keep the temp¬ 
erature of the water up; that is, we can prevent the water from 
getting cold when the motor is not running by properly cov¬ 
ering the radiator and hood. These overcoats, as they might be 
called, keep out the cold, and it is possible with a good tight- 
fitting covering to retain the water temperature at a high degree 
for many hours. Where the carbureter is waterjacketed, there 
is some heat ready for the next start. Often, however, the car 
is left standing so long on a cold day that even the radiator cover 
is not enough to keep out the cold with the result that the water 
temperature drops, and you have a cold motor. Then resort to 
the methods previously described of using a primer, air or fuel 
heater, etc. 

The hard-starting problem will be more severe in some sections 
of the country; in fact, the problem really changes as the fuel, 
air temperature and altitude, and since these are different for 
different localities each one will have separate problems. Cold, 
as we all know, increases the viscosity of gasoline; that is, it 
makes the gasoline heavier and gives it more resistance to flow. 
The colder molasses gets, the thicker it gets. When it is cold it 
does not flow as readily as when warm or hot, and precisely the 
same condition exists with gasoline. When it gets very cold, it is 
difficult to break it up and make it flow freely through the com¬ 
paratively small orifice in the carbureter. In cold weather we 
need an excess of fuel in the cylinders for easy starting and the 
cold weather works against us by making it hard to get that ex¬ 
cess of fuel into the cylinders, because the fuel when cold is more 
viscuous than when warm. 

If you start out with a poor grade of fuel and it gets very cold, 
the poor grade becomes poorer and hence starting difficulties are 
multiplied. Even when the carbureter choker is set so as to cut off 
the primary air and thus cause all the suction to be exerted on the 
nozzle, it is hard to lift a sufficient amount of fuel through the 
manifold into the cylinders. Hence priming is resorted to. 

Years ago we bought fairly good gasoline all the year round 
and starting troubles in winter were not so frequent, but now we 
have a much poorer grade of fuel and our winters are just as 
severe. 

Coming back to the locality question. In the higher altitudes 
vaporization is more complete than at sea level, and hence the 
drop in temperature is greater than at sea level making starting 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


197 


harder. With the temperature at New York the same as that at 
Denver and the fuels the same, it will be harder to start the 
engine in Denver. Owners of cars operated at high altitudes 
must ordinarily run richer than those run at sea level. In winter 
when the sea level owner must run rich, the altitude owner must 
run richer, and for initial starting the problem is just the same. 
Hence the owner in Denver and similar sections should have 
great need of a dash tank and some petroleum ether. 

The winter starting problem then resolves itself into this. Get 
heat to the air, and to the gasoline directly or by contact with a 
heated manifold or heated plug; get an excess of fuel into the 
cylinders by priming, or introduce a little fuel of high volatility, 
such as 76 degrees gasoline. The carbureter should be one fitted 
with a hot air tube and also jacketed for exhaust gas or water 
and should have an air control. To keep the water temperature 
as high as possible when standing on the street for a while a 
radiator and hood blanket should be used. 


HEATING THE GARAGE 

I F the small private garage is to be used during the winter, any 
car owner of experience will understand the necessity for 
heating it. The cold garage causes many ills besides the obvious 
one of freezing up the radiator of the car. In most cases it will 
cause more than enough damage and inconvenience fully to have 
paid for a complete heating plant. Most of the starting troubles 
so generally complained of in winter may be traced back to the 
cold garage. A sudden drop in temperature is bad for the parts 
of the engine and for the finish of the body, which are susceptible 
to marked expansion and contraction through such changes in 
temperature. During the long nights of winter great drops often 
occur and a garage that is unheated subjects the car to unneces¬ 
sary and dangerous tests. Ice in the batteries is another recog¬ 
nized evil resulting from the cold garage. Also there is the in¬ 
convenience of washing when the car is covered with frozen 
mud. If the car is cleaned with warm water to remove the mud 
and the garage is cold, the paint and varnish are apt to suffer 
serious damage. 

If, on the other hand, the garage is heated, all these difficulties 
and damages are obviated. The place is made comfortable as a 
work room and many little odd jobs may be attended to which 
would otherwise have to be transferred to the repair shop, to 
the pecuniary disadvantages of the car owner. With the car stored 
in a warm room, not only are the paint and varnish conserved, 
but the oil retains its fluidity instead of becoming gummy and 



198 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the general condition of the car is maintained at a point where 
ordinarily satisfactory service may be expected. 

Small private garages may be heated by a gas, oil or coal stove 
or by direct steam or hot water taken from the house and run 
out on a separate pipe from the boiler. The ordinary types of 
kerosene oil stoves or the common types of gas stoves are not 
satisfactory for the garage, because they are too dangerous a fire 
hazard. However, there are specially designed oil and gas stoves 
which can be used satisfactorily. 

One of the best types of gas burning garage heaters is a small 
warm air heater which uses either artificial or natural gas. It is 
so constructed that it is safe in the presence of inflammable or 
explosive gases. This is accomplished by having a double set of 
finely perforated brass screens across the air opening which feeds 
the burner. This permits the air to enter for feeding the flame, 
but allows no flame to pass backward through it. No matches 
are ever used to light the flame, but a rotary wheel and friction 
metal are set near a pilot light which can be ignited by a quick 
sharp twist of the wheel. The pilot light then is used for catch¬ 
ing the main burner. The entire combustion chamber is covered 
with a metal casing. The burner heats an inner drum of sheet 
metal which is encased with an outer metal covering allowing an 
air space between. The ends are made of cast iron. The cold 
air enters at the bottom of thei heater and the hot air passes 
out at the top, so that it can be set up against the wall of the gar¬ 
age and the car run close to it without blistering the paint. The 
hot gases generated at the burner, after having given up most 
of their heat in the inner drum pass out through an outlet at the 
bottom rear and up through a four-inch vent pipe placed at the 
end of the heater and extending through the roof. 

For a garage with a floor area of about 350 square feet, which 
would include garages 14 feet by 24 feet, 16 feet by 22 feet, 18 
feet by 20 feet, or 19 feet by 19 feet, a heater of this type suffi¬ 
cient for warming would take up a floor space of \Z l / 2 inches by 
45 inches. It would be 40 inches above the floor and require a 
4-inch vent pipe and a 24-inc'h gas supply pipe if natural gas is 
used, but if artificial gas is supplied the pipe must be increased 
to 1-inch. For garages of about 550 square feet, including those 
of the following sizes: 18 feet by 30 feet, 20 feet by 28 feet, 22 
feet by 26 feet, or 24 feet 24 feet, a heater of the same width is 
required but 57 inches long. For larger garages of an area of 
about 900 to 950 square feet, including such sizes as 24 feet by 
38 feet, 26 feet by 36 feet, 28 feet by 34 feet, or 30 feet by 32 
feet, a much larger heater is required, which takes up a floor 
space of 23 inches by 42 inches, and requires a 5-inch vent pipe 
and a natural gas supply pipe of 1-inch and artificial gas pipe of 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 199 

1% inches. Where the climate is extremely cold, larger gas 
pipes should be used than those indicated to prevent freezing*. 

Another type of gas heater has the appearance of a cast iron 
steam radiator. Inside of the radiator at the base is a mixer and 
burner. This possesses no protective flame device, but the gas is 
lighted at an opening in the end, and the air is drawn through 
port holes to feed the flame near the bottom. It passes up 
through the columns of the radiator and out through a vent 
pipe connected near the center. The flue outlet is about 2 inches 
to 3 inches in diameter, depending on the size of the heater. 
The radiator is built up in sections from two to eight in number. 
There are two heights of sections, one 27 inches, which has four 
square feet radiation, and another 38 inches high which has five 
square feet radiation per section. Depth is 10 inches. The size 
and number of section required is figured in the same manner 
that a steam radiator is figured as shown later in this article. 

A gas-burning attachment may also be added to a coal stove 
type of heater. Likewise the use of crude oil as a fuel for heat¬ 
ing the garage can be set into a typical coal stove heater. The 
difficulty of using crude oil for a burner is that it should be 
stored outside of the building in the same manner that gasoline 
is stored. The fire underwriters recommend that it be placed 
no nearer than 30 feet to the building and buried at least two 
feet below ground. Of course, a crude oil burner is a much 
easier method of securing heat than by coal, but it is consider¬ 
ably more dangerous to handle around the garage, and it is not a 
fuel that can be obtained conveniently in all localities. If crude 
oil is burned as a fuel, in any particular district, it generally is 
used in the heating plant of the house, and it will be better to 
run an extension of this plant out to the garage in the form of 
steam or hot water radiator. Oil stoves which have the storage 
of oil in a reservoir connected with them are very dangerous 
from the standpoint of fire. The common kerosene stove, al¬ 
though it is used, is not a satisfactory type for the garage. Not 
only is it dangerous to leave burning without someone around, 
but in a small garage where the windows are closed on severe 
winter days the air is fouled very rapidly and thus the garage is 
made an unhealthful workshop. 

The old-fashioned coal stove still produces as satisfactory a 
method of heating a small building like a garage as any form 
invented. The coal can be kept burning constantly, and hot 
water connections can be easily installed. With heat constantly 
supplied, plumbing fixtures can be installed inlhe garage such 
as a sink and water closet. The air is kept sweet and clean, 
and by a pot of water set on top of the stove the moisture is re¬ 
tained in the air. preventing the very dry heat which is so harm¬ 
ful to the varnish on the car and unpleasant to work in. If there 


200 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


is a room above the garage, a register can be placed in the floor 
to heat it. 

In most cases it is not necessary to build a brick chimney for 
the coal stove, an iron smoke pipe being satisfactory. Where the 
stove is large and must heat a fair sized garage it would of 
course be better to build a good chimney. 

In setting up the stove, it is best to place it at the rear end 
of the garage it would of course be better to build a good chim¬ 
ney. 

In setting up the stove, it is best to place it at the rear end 
of the garage and in one corner. A metal screen is useful to set 
up around the ash pit door and no ashes should be dumped 
out fresh and allowed to stand around inside. Where the garage 
is a wooden structure, plaster board and sheet iron should be 
nailed to the walls near the stove for protection. 

The actual dimension of the stove necessary properly to heat 
a garage depends upon its location, size, material of which it is 
built, etc. As a general guide, however, the following will give 
some idea of the necessary size. These sizes assume that the 
garage is built of brick. For a garage about 350 square feet in 
size and approximating the dimensions noted for the gas heater, 
a stove should be secured which has a fire-pot of about 14 inches 
in diameter. The 550 square foot size requires a 17-inch fire- 
pot. A double garage about 850 square feet in size requires 
a 19-inch fire-pot. When the garage is as big as 1,050 square feet, 
the stove should be clad in sheet metal and have a fire-pot of 
20 inches. For an area of 1,360 square feet a 22-inch fire- 
pot is good. From these figures an approximate estimate of 
the size stove necessary to install may be figured. A little com¬ 
mon sense must be used, and the material of which the garage is 
built and its location considered. 

If a steam pipe is to be run out to the garage from the house, 
the number of square feet of radiation must be calculated which 
will be required to heat the temperature to the desired degree. 
When this is known the size radiator can be quickly determined. 
A cast iron one can be used or a pipe coil set up on the wall. 
The gas radiator already mentioned can also be estimated in 
size, and this installed. 

The following rule should be used to determine the size radi¬ 
ator necessary. Find out the total number of square feet in the 
windows and door. Subtract this from the total number of 
square feet of all the four walls and roof, if it is an exposed 
type and not plastered. This will give the actual number of 
square feet of wall excluding the windows and door. Divide 
this amount by ten if the walls are approximately eight inches 
thick. Add this to the total amount of square feet of window 
and door surface previously estimated. Now multiply this 


WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


201 


figure by severity-five. This product will be the number of 
cubic feet of air which are cooled per hour in the garage. Add 
to this the volume of the garage and this will give the total 
quantity of air to be heated. Generally it is heated to a tem¬ 
perature of fifty degrees when it is zero outside. Finally, to 
determine the number of square feet of radiation necessary, 
multiply this quantity by .009, which will give the desired answer. 

Now, a radiator having this number of square feet of radiation 
must be selected. If it is an ordinary cast iron radiator, this will 
be listed in the manufacturer’s catalogue. On the other hand, 
if the radiator is to be made of pipes and hung on the wall, 
the number of feet of pipe necessary will have to be estimated. 
To obtain this multiply the square feet of radiation by: 

3 to give No. ft. of 1-inch pipe necessary. 

2.3“ “ “ “ “ 1 “ 

2 « << << << u a a 

J ^ if a ft a a 2 << f< n 

For an example of figuring the size radiator necessary for a 
garage take a typical size thirteen by twenty-four feet with eight 
inch brick wall ten feet high and a pitched roof with flat plastered 
ceiling and attic above. It has a door ten feet wide by eight feet, 
six inches high, and four windows two feet by four feet. To 
determine necessary size of radiator take the following steps: 

1. The total number of square feet in the windows and door 
will amount to 117. 

2. The garage is thirteen feet by twenty-four feet. Allowing 
for eight inch thick wall, we have about 71}4 feet of it. This 
multiplied by ten feet, its height, will give 715 square feet of 
wall including doors and windows. Subtract from this 117 de¬ 
termined above and the result, 598 square feet, will be total num¬ 
ber of actual square feet of wall. 

3. Divide this 598 by 10 and get 59.8. 

4. Add this to 117, the door and window surface, and get 176.8. 

5. Multiply 176.8 by 75 and get 13260. 

6. Add to this the volume of the garage which is approximately 
13 by 24 by 10 feet, which gives 3120. Adding this to 13260 you 
get 16380. 

7. Multiply this by .009 and get approximately 148 square feet 
of radiation necessary to heat the garage. 

If a cast iron radiator is to be selected to meet this requirement 
one of sufficient size must be selected from the catalogue. Sup¬ 
pose a four column forty-five inch high radiator is to be used, 
and in the catalogue it is found that one section of such a radiator 
has ten square feet of radiation per section. Then dividing 148 
by 10 a radiator of 15 sections should be used. This will be 
about 10K inches wide and 45 inches long. 


202 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


j*. «<*» 


If, however, a system of pipe coils is used, shaped in a trom¬ 
bone pattern, less space will be taken up. Suppose a lJ /2 inch 
pipe is to be used. From the table the number of feet necessary 
will be 148 multiplied by 2, which is 296 feet of \ l / 2 inch pipe. 
This can be set up in short or long runs as desired. 

If a hot water system is used in the house, the radiator in the 
garage must also be a hot water type and the necessary radiation 
increased. Figure just the same as for steam but then increase 
it in proportion. The radiator should be \/ 2 times as large as the 
one required for steam. 

In making the extension of this radiator to the garage a greater 
burden is added to the boiler in the house. If it is so great an 
added burden as to upset the house heating it should not be 
done, and some other form ought to be installed. In putting 
in a boiler for the ordinary house, allowance is made for over¬ 
rating of the boilers by the manufacturers. The entire necessary 
square feet of radiation for the house is estimated and then to 
this twenty-five per cent of it is added to overcome uncovered 
mains, etc., and twenty per cent more for friction and condensa¬ 
tion. The final is used for selecting the size boiler. For this 
reason most boilers have a sufficient amount of extra capacity 
to carry an added load over that of the house. 

The feed pipe which must be extended from the house to the 
radiator must be carefully studied out. It cannot be below the 
water line of the boiler in the house, and yet it must be placed 
underneath the ground in concrete to prevent it from freezing. 
The location of tapping the main system and other details 
require the consideration of an experienced heating man for 
each particular job. If the garage is located too far from the 
house it may be absolutely out of. the question to make an exten¬ 
sion. If the garage is belqw the house level this may make it 
impossible. All these factors must be considered. The problem 
is comparatively simple, however, in most cases. In the average 
case a one and one-half inch or two inch pipe will be large 
enough to supply all the steam necessary to the radiator. 


HEATING THE GARAGE 


SMALL garage can be heated most economically by means 



A* of an oil stove encased in fine mesh gauze, somewhat after 
the style of a Davy mine lamp. It is impossible for flame to 
pass either way with this arrangement, and it is therefore very 
safe and at the same time portable. If cheap gas is at hand, 
the same method can be used, in this case piping the air to the 
mixer from outside the building. As a matter of convenience, 



WINTER DRIVING AND MAINTENANCE 


203 


a pilot light can be left burning, so as to bring the heater into 
action without the striking of matches. This latter not only 
for convenience but for safety. K., Newark, Ohio. 

An Externally Housed Coal Stove 

Build, either inside or outside of the building and against 
one of its walls, a small closet (if inside), or addition (if 
outside), about four feet square. Install in this a coal stove 
of the size deemed necessary, that has a heater drum attach¬ 
ment, ordinarily used for heating the room above the one in 
which the stove is located, by a pipe through the ceiling. 
Next, lead the sheet iron pipe from the hot drum to the inside 
6 f the garage by cutting an opening in the partition just large 
enough for the pipe. The stove pipe may be led to the outside 
of the building without being exposed to the inside. If the 
door in this stove compartment is made a good tight fit it 
may with safety be located inside, but my preference is out¬ 
side the garage. _ _ 

The sides of the compartment in closest proximity to the 
stove may be lined with sheet asbestos; and a small amount 
of ventilation may be provided at the bottom. The result is a 
most satisfactory heater that may be left for a day at a time, 
without fear either of damage or of the fire going out. 

Frank K. Green, Salem, New Jersey. 

Prefers a Unit Hot Water System 
Hot water is the ideal heating medium for the purpose in 
question. The heater for this purpose should be what is gener¬ 
ally termed, by manufacturers and heating contractors, a tank 
heater. These heaters are too small for ordinary house heat¬ 
ing, but can be secured of ample capacity for a small garage. 
This style heater can be placed in a corner of the garage and 
takes up little space. The most convenient radiator for this 
purpose is a regular wall radiator. 

This style of radiator is best suited for several reasons: It 
takes up but very little space, only protruding from the wall 
about 4 inches. It can be elevated on the wall a sufficient dis¬ 
tance above the return inlet to the heater so that an ordinary 
gravity system may be used and the hot water supply and the 
cold water return may both be connected at the bottom of the 
various radiators and thus do away with overhead pipes. Wall 
radiators can be connected in many different ways so that the 
proper amount of radiating surface may be had, and yet the 
radiator can be placed where most convenient. 

A tank heater such as mentioned above would cost from $15 
up, according to heating capacity desired, while the wall rad¬ 
iators would cost about 25 cents per foot of radiating surface. 

Wilbur C. Sunderland, Lincoln, Nebraska. 


CHAPTER XIV 

HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 


TOOLS TO CARRY 


D URING the touring season last year the writer came in 
frequent contact with the automobile travel through 
Oregon and northern California. 

Casual inspection of the equipment of the majority of these 
motorists would have been interesting to the junk dealer as 
well as a study for the accessory man. In addition to a full 
and generous equipment of tools, extra tires, the smaller 
repair parts and extras ordinarily carried in country driving, 
many were loaded down with a heavy supply of extra gasoline 
and lubricating oils, extra springs, large towing ropes, water 
bags of big capacities, as well as a most elaborate camping 
equipment, including numerous parcels of personal luggage, 
large rolls of canvas and blankets, shovels, axes, saws, guns, 
fishing tackle, lanterns, numerous buckets, pots and pans, 
and a commissary department that would do justice to a 
logging camp. It was not out of the ordinary to see a tour¬ 
ing car carrying two or three persons loaded beyond safe 
capacity with “touring preparedness.” 

Touring may be enjoyed in any part of the United States 
except the Rocky Mountain desert sections and small por¬ 
tions of the South with very little more equipment than is 
necessary in ordinary country driving where hard surfaced 
road is not available. 

The present popular use of motor cars has been instrumental 
in the establishment of more or less competent motor repair 
service in every city and practically every hamlet in the 
United States, and even though the motorist may not find in 
the small hamlet the skill to suit his taste he will find better 
equipment and generally a better selection of repair parts with 
which to cure his mechanical troubles himself than he could 
possibly hope to carry in his car. He will also find these 
same hamlets well supplied with gasoline, motor oils and 
many other necessities to motor comfort. 

Before embarking on a tour the least extensive the motorist 
may save himself much grief and enjoy his tour in better 


204 


HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 


205 


temper by having all mechanical parts of his car in prime 
condition. All carbon should be removed from the cylinder 
heads, the valves should seat perfectly and show no pitting 
whatever. The slightest motor knock should be traced 
down and remedied. The gasoline line should be cleaned, 
the circulating system should be flushed out and given an 
alkali treatment if necessary, the electrical conductors of all 
circuits should be examined and all connections made tight. 
Clean and place new lubricant in the crank case, stearing 
gear, gear set and differential; in fact, start out with a fresh 
supply of lubricant in all receptacles. Not only try out both 
brakes, but examine the lining of both and replace any thin 
lining and thoroughly adjust both brakes. See that all play 
in steering gear and driving mechanism is remedied. Have 
a perfectly operating clutch even if refacing has to be resorted 
to. Test the electrolite in the storage battery and have it 
charged if it is not already nearly so. 

The writer has found that quite extended tours in the 
Pacific Slope States, including the mountainous sections 
thereof, may be enjoyed in perfect mechanical satisfaction 
with the following listed articles: 

TOOLS 

2 Pair tire chains. 

1 Efficient jack. 

1 Brace wrench for changing rims. 

1 Efficient tire pump. 

1 Tire gauge. 

1 Valve tool. 

1 Small vulcanizer. 

1 Sheet fine sand paper. 

1 Sheet fine emery cloth. 

All special wrenches belonging to car. 

2 Monkey wrenches (large and small). 

1 Small set socket wrenches adapted to car. 

1 Small Stillson wrench. 

2 Screw drivers (one with all wooden handle). 

1 Pair pliers with wire cutters. 

1 Good jack knife. 

1 Small vise to clamp to running board. 

1 12-oz. machinist’s hammer. 

1 Punch or carpenter’s nail set. 

1 Cotter pin extractor. 

1 Large flat mill file. 

1 Thin knife edged file. 


206 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


1 Drill. 

1 Small short-handled axe. 

1 Towing cable. 

1 Oil squirt can (carried under hood). 

1 Grease gun. 

1 Small funnel. 

1 Chamois skin. 

1 Small ball of marline. 

1 Pocket electric flashlight. (If car has no trouble lamp.) 

1 Pocket ammeter. 

SPARE PARTS & EXTRAS 

1 or 2 Extra tire casings and inner tubes. 

1 Strong two-gallon can extra gasoline. 

1 Strong two-quart sealable can gas engine oil. 

1 Can grease. 

1 Small sealable can kerosene. 

1 Blowout patch. 

1 Leather tire sleeve. 

1 Package assorted cement patches. 

1 Small package raw rubber for vulcanizing. 

1 Small can vulcanizing cement. 

1 Tube self-vulcanizing cement. 

1 Can mastic. 

1 Box mica tire powder. 

6 or more extra tire valves. 

4 Extra valve caps. 

4 Extra dust caps. 

4 Extra headlight bulbs. 

2 Extra tail-light bulbs. 

4 to 12 feet good insulated wire. 

1 Roll electrician’s tape. 

*/2 as many extra spark plugs as motor has cylinders. 

P 2 as many extra porcelains as motor has cylinders. 

1 Ball asbestos wicking. 

1 Bundle waste. 

1 Assortment copper, asbestos and rubber gaskets to fit car. 

1 Piece radiator steam hose (18 inches long). 

2 Extra hose clips. 

2 Extra valve springs. 

1 Extra fan belt. 

1 Small .sheet rubber packing (1/16 inch thick). 

1 Assortment cotter pins, nuts, lock washers, wood screws 
and nails. 


HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 


207 


EMERGENCY FOOD SUPPLY 
(Four People) 

2 Two gallon canvas bags water. 

4 Pound packages hard tack. 

4 Half-pound cans meat or fish. 

2 Pounds sweet chocolate. 

2 Cans fruit. 

Personal luggage. 

The extra tire rack, one running board and the regular tool 
compartment can be made to carry all the above equipment 
so long as order is maintained in the placing of the articles. 
Of course, camping equipment may be substituted for the 
above food supply if camping out is planned upon, but selec¬ 
tion of camping equipment should be made with due regard 
for its bulk and weight with reference to the capacity of the 

car. C. M. C., Fort Canby, Wash. 

Tools That Have Always Answered 

The tool equipment that I am about to outline has been in 
my car for the past year and I have never found a time that 
some of the tools didn’t play an important part, and I never 
yet have been stumped when it came to making a repair. For 
convenience I have divided my tools into three classes, be¬ 
cause I have three different places to keep my tools and keep 
the ones most used in the handiest place. 

Nowadays every car has either pockets in the doors, cup¬ 
boards in the cowl or a pocket between the two front seats. 
There is also room under one of the front seat cushions and 
sometimes both, but as a rule one of the front seats is taken 
up with the storage battery. Some makers don’t fix the 
back seat so it is available, but with a few good boards at 
hand the average car owner can make a valuable tool carrier 
under the rear seat. 

1. First I’ll relate the pocket tools that I carry in a little 
compartment that divides the front seats. 

One pair of adjustable pliers, which are better known as 
just pliers. 

One six-inch crescent wrench, sometimes called adjustable 
end wrench. 

One six-inch pipe wrench. 

One ten-inch screw-driver. 

One gasoline tank filler cup wrench. 

One tire gauge. 

I have two small end wrenches that came with the car, and 


208 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


as they are made especially for this car they are very handy 
and I carry them in this class. 

2. In the second class I carry heavier tools that are quite 
often used and also necessary tools to make a tire change. 

I carry these tools under the driver’s seat so that he alone 
is disturbed when any of these tools are needed. 

One eight-inch crescent wrench. 

One twelve-inch crescent wrench. 

One ten-inch pipe wrench. 

One four-inch screw-driver for small electrical parts. 

One twelve-inch screw-driver. 

One light ball-peen hammer with two cold chisels and 
punch. 

One good jock and ling handle. 

One tire wrench. 

We have an engine-driven pump and carry the hose in this 
class. 

Tire chains. 

3. Under the back seat I carry the following tools, which 
aren’t used very often, but are actually necessary. 

One hand axe, which can be used for a heavy hammer. 

One small pair of tackle blocks, with seventy-five feet of 
rope. 

Two special rim tools or pegs for changing the tire on the 
rim. 

One bulb case, with bulbs for the car’s lamps. 

One hand-tire pump in case motor-driven pump fails. 

Several special wrenches, such as hub-cap wrench, spanner 
wrench and socket wrench. 

Some other tools for towing might be added here, as they 
play an important part. 

One swivel searchlight for illumination when repairing 
parts. 

In one of the pockets I carry a route book, with rubber 
bands separating the different pages that contain the route I 
desire to travel. 

I also carry a pair of canvas gloves in one of the pockets; 
these I wear when I have to change a tire. Under the back 
seat I have a pair of rubbers and an old rain coat, which come 
in handy when it is necessary to put the chains on in the mud. 

Of course, I always carry two tires on the rack, all inflated, 
and two extra inner tubes under the rear seat, as well as a 
couple of blowout patches and some extra spark plugs. 

The above equipment might sound cumbersome, but you 


HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 


209 


will find that it is very easily stored in the various compart¬ 
ments which I have mentioned, and that you will never regret 
any one tool of it. 

Neil E. Ensworth, Warren, Pa. 


MOTOR CAMPING EQUIPMENT 


/^AR camping may be either a most enjoyable experience, or 
^ the sorriest of wet-blanket routes. That depends. Several 
successful voyages “into the bush,” and one or two incidents of 
actual suffering, have taught me the wisdom of the following 
equipment and advice: 

1. Don’t venture forth without a first-aid and emergency kit 
containing bandages, cotton, antiseptic, adhesive tape, scissors, 
safety pins, needles, and thread. 

2. Take along a hand lantern, preferably of the mantle type 
generating its own vapor from gasoline; also a compass, maps, 
rope, a light ax, and a “boy’s size” spade. A canvas water-bag 
has unique merits. 

3. Include in your outfit these utensils of aluminum: kettle, 
skillet, stew-pan, covered baking pan (as oven), coffee pot, salt 
and pepper shakers, dipper, basins, nesting cups, and a dozen pie- 
plates (or several dozen wooden plates) ; also long fork, long 
spoon, wide-bladed kitchen knife, can opener, etc., and a generous 
supply of absorbent paper napkins. 

For cook’s sake, provide a folding stool; and a jointed grid 
to set up over the fire. The latter eliminates makeshifts—and 
spills—besides being an excellent broiler and toaster, “Old 
timers” hereabout, who should know, purchase these grids—in 
fact, their kompleat kamp kook kits, duffle bags, etc.—and insist 
on their undoubted value. 

Some car campers may not be aware that the windshield, 
folded inward horizontally, makes a serviceable quick-lunch 
counter. 

4. Like many tourists in this region, I have obtained extra lug¬ 
gage space thus: Run two rods of small angle-iron from fender 
to fender, a foot or more apart, above and parallel to the outer 
edge of one running board. Bore holes in the rod ends and fen¬ 
der flanges, and fasten with bolts, four in all. They are quickly 
removable and leave no trace. 

5. As regards sleeping arrangements, there is one expedient so 
superior to any other that the failure of car-body designers to 
take the hint is a standing mystery. Personally, I object to retir¬ 
ing up among the top-bows of my car via the stepladder route. 
I, accordingly, got an upholsterer to alter the back of the front 



210 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


scat so that, when released at the sides, it swings backward level 
with the tonneau seat. Nickeled refrigerator-door clasps and 
hinges insure a neat job. At sleeping time the rear cushion is 
reversed, and lo! a deep wide bed and soft mattress, without 
cumbersome lugalongs. A canvas stretched from the raised top 
to the ground and a folding cot beneath doubles accommoda¬ 
tions. 

6 . The kind and amount of protective coverings to carry must 
depend on the prevailing climate. In any case, don’t decide that 
it won’t rain. And he prepared against chilly nights. Cold feet, 
actual, are mostly to blame for the corresponding mental attitude 
toward camping. Blue morning faces are really unnecessary. 
Remember that you have a radiator aboard—an efficient water 
heater. Run the engine a bit and draw off into bottles for the 
bed-warming comfort of all. 

Albert B. Tripp, Tacoma, Wash. 

Existence and Economy or Luxury and Expense 

I spent six winters of my life as a trapper and the camping 
outfit was no larger or heavier than one could pack on his back. 
As I recall those days now they seem to me that that was “Exist¬ 
ence and Economy,” and as I think of some of our millionaire 
sportsmen, we can class their outfits as “Luxury and Expense.” 
Now somewhere between those extremes there is a condition of 
comfort at a reasonable cost. I say comfort because you cannot 
enjoy your trip if you do not sleep well, keep dry and have a 
convenient way of cooking. 

The last few seasons, I, like so many others, have but two 
weeks’ vacation, all of which has been used for a simple trip 
and I find that without a real stove and bed I get so tired that 
two weeks seem long enough. It seems only natural to let our 
fishing or shooting infringe on the time we would be cooking or 
sleeping. 

As this magazine is distributed through all States of the Union 
and some other countries, it would seem unreasonable that a 
camping outfit for Minnesota or Wisconsin woudl be just the 
thing for California or Florida or vice versa. 

Here is the outfit I use and some of the reasons for selecting it: 

I have a nine-foot square wall tent made of twelve-ounce 
double-filled canvas. This tent is practically waterproof and will 
remain so as no preparation or waterproofing has been used on 
it. Waterproofing is all right for a season or two, but is liable 
to rot the canvas. The tent is arranged so it may be set up on 
poles or swing from a ridge rope when in the woods and is of 
ample size to accommodate three folding army cots. An eight- 
ounce tent with a fly will turn as much water, is warmer in cold 
weather and cooler in hot weather, but necessitates the extra 


HINTS FOR THE TOURIST 


211 


stakes, ropes, etc., and requires a lot of extra labor if moved 
often. 

For beds and bedding we use three folding army cots. These 
cots fold up easily and in a small space. They are more com¬ 
fortable and healthful than sleeping on the ground. Take plenty 
of comforters and blankets, for you will need as many under you 
as over. 

We have two stoves, a sheet iron folding affair that burns 
wood, and a two-burner gasoline stove, either of which fold up 
smaller than a suit case. We carry our dishes in one suit case 
and eatables in another. Also have three folding camp stools. 
The first trip we carried everything inside of the automobile, but 
later found most of it could be carried on the running boards, 
but must be well tied on. 

This year I am building a folding boat that will be carried on a 
trailer. One-half of the boat will act as a box, while the other 
half as a cover for same. 

If your car is new or many are going on the trip, I would 
advise using a trailer, as they save the finish and cushions. 

There are some trailers on the market that include a complete 
camping outfit; in fact, they are a cross between a house and a 
tent that folds up, beds, bedding, stove, and all, into a trailer; 
the only objection is the price, $250. Here are a few camping 
“don’ts” that may help you on the way: 

Don’t overload with “useful” things, just take necessities. 

Don’t try to own the land you are camping on. You might 
meet the man who has the deed. 

Don’t go away and leave a fire burning. 

Don’t take any more game or fish than you can use. 

Be friendly with the farmers and your trip won’t cost you as 
much, and you will be welcome next year. 

M. A. Wright, St. Paul, Minn. 




Care of the Car 

Ford Section 



While much of the general information in the 
preceding pages is of value to owners of Ford 
cars, there is so much specific data which 
Ford owners require that it has been found 
advisable to devote an entire section to it. 










CHAPTER XV 

THE FORD IGNITION SYSTEM 


IMPROVING THE IGNITION SYSTEM 

npHE two troubles that are most common with the Ford four 

. coil system of ignition are: the burning of the vibrator 
points, and the lack of synchronism. 

Due to the variable voltage and the excessive amperage gen¬ 
erated by the Ford magneto at high engine speeds, there is a 
great tendency for the platinum vibrator points to pit or burn 
unevenly, causing them to stick together, and so reduce the effi¬ 
ciency of the coil, or cause it to stop its action entirely. This 
effect is very noticeable upon a car that is used a great deal dur¬ 
ing the day and does not have the lamps to use up the surplus cur¬ 
rent. 

In every coil there is a certain amount of magnetic lag; by this 
I mean that the vibrator tongue hesitates just a small fraction 
of a second before it responds to the current passing through 
the coil. The time of this lag, that is, the time elapsing between 
the turning on of the current and the action of the secondary 
spark will vary in coils for two reasons. Every coil contains a 
slightly different amount of iron in the core, amounting it is true 
to but the smallest fracton of an ounce but enough to make a 
difference in the speed of the magnetic lines of force. It would 
be almost impossible to have all of the vibrator tongues of the 
same springiness or tension. In addition to this the lengths of 
wire used in the windings may vary a few inches in each coil. 

These conditions in the four coil system of the Ford result in 
lack of synchronism:—that is, the spark at the four plugs does 
not take place at exactly the same position of the piston, even 
though the contact is made at the timer at exactly the same pis¬ 
ton position. 

When the coils are not absolutely synchronous the engine will 
lack power to a certain extent. 

To overcome both of these troubles I have installed a master 
vibrator. By this means, there is absolute synchronism and the 
replacement of platinum contact points is cut down from four to 
one. The adjustment of the vibrator points is much easier when 
one coil is used, and a hot spark is assured for all cylinders. 


215 


216 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


You can see very easily that when a master vibrator is installed, 
all of the objectons to a four-coil system have been removed, in 
reality you have made a single coil system of it. 

W. S. Winslow, Providence, R. I. 

Minor Troubles Rather Than Inherent Defects 

The common troubles which arise from the four-coil ignition 
system as installed on the Ford car are due largely to the multi¬ 
plication of parts rather than to any inherent defects in the sys¬ 
tem itself. 

The four coils, placed as they are, on the dash to protect them 
and make them accessible, necessitate a somewhat complicated 
system of wiring. My greatest trouble with this system has been 
caused by the wires from the coils to the commutator becoming 
chafed or oil soaked. If, however, these wires are renewed occa¬ 
sionally they will cause very little trouble. 

Another rather frequent cause of trouble with this system is 
with the vibrators on the coil units. After any considerable use 
the contact points on these vibrators become worn and frequently 
become roughened so that they stick together, causing uneven 
running of the engine. While this roughening of the contact 
points causes the engine to run unevenly, still all uneven running 
of the engine does not arise from this source, as many inexperi¬ 
enced drivers presume. Many a good series of vibrators are 
ruined by constant tinkering, when as a matter of fact the trouble 
lies with a faulty spark plug or a poor contact on the commutator. 
The vibrator adjustments should not be tampered with except as 
an extreme measure. 

Another source of trouble with the four-coil system, especially 
with the 1917 model, is the short circuiting of the system caused 
by water leaking into or behind the coil box. This may be reme¬ 
died by loosening the dashboard and placing behind it a strip of 
felt which has been soaked in shellac. When the dash is tight¬ 
ened the gasket will then make a waterproof seal and prevent 
rain from leaking down behind the coil box. 

Generally speaking, however, the Ford ignition system is very 
efficient, and if not tampered with except when absolutely neces¬ 
sary will prove very satisfactory under all ordinary conditions. 

Hamilton A. Hooper, Eagles Mere, Pa. 

Proper Adjustment and Attention Needed 

The Ford four-coil ignition system has been the subject of 
much unfavorable comment. The new Ford owner is often sud¬ 
denly awakened to the fact that his motor has commenced to 
miss, and having heard so much about the inefficiency of the coils, 


THE FORD IGNITION SYSTEM 


217 


he immediately decides that his motor needs an ignition system 
which will deliver an even hot spark. 

There are three well-known substitutes for the four-coil vibra¬ 
tor system: the master vibrator, which still retains the coils and 
commutator, but eliminates the four vibrators; the magneto, 
which dispenses with the use of the Ford magneto current, the 
coils and the commutator; and the unit coil with the single vibra¬ 
tor, also dispensing with the entire original Ford equipment. 

The master vibrator may be installed at a nominal price. By 
this system the coils and commutator are retained, but the four 
vibrators are shunted to a single vibrating coil. When properly 
adjusted this coil renders very satisfactory service, but when the 
vibrator becomes pitted, it often sticks and a temporary short 
circuit requiring a great deal of coaxing to come to life. Where 
cost is not considered and where high speed is desired, the mag¬ 
neto is very desirable. 

The unit coil with the single vibrator, taking the place of the 
four coils, the commutator, and dispensing with the magneto 
current is a popular substitute, and one which may be installed 
at a reasonable first cost. This system uses dry cell instead of 
current from the magneto, and it is very efficient when the cells 
are of high test, but when they become reduced after a few 
months’ usage, the current is weakened, and an insufficient spark 
and very hard starting is the result. The after cost of such a 
system should also be considered, because new batteries must be 
purchased every two or three thousand miles. 

When all has been said of the substitutes for the four-coil sys¬ 
tem, one should realize that this system can also be improved, 
and a substitute is not needed. It should be noted that the recent 
coils are not so troublesome as those which were used a few 
years ago. The vibrators last longer, do not stick so easily and 
produce a hotter spark. With proper adjustment and care these 
coils should produce satisfactory current, and the. Fold motor 
and magneto were originally intended to be used in connection 
with such a system. If the vibrator points are kept the proper 
distance apart, the surfaces kept clean and smooth, and the com¬ 
mutator properly oiled and cleaned, the ignition system will give 
no trouble and will be the most satisfactory system for the Ford 
motor Inspect the commutator roller often and if it becomes 
worn, install a new one. This is often a source of unsuspected 
trouble and the blame is laid to the coils. 

H. W. A., Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER XVI 

THE CARBURETION SYSTEM 


IMPROVING THE CARBURETION SYSTEM 

'T'FIE following home-made device which was designed to in- 
crease the efficiency of the carburetion system on Ford cars 
has been in use on the writer’s car about six months and the 
results obtained fully justify the time and money expended. The 
device consists of a valve on the intake manifold and a means 
for readily opening and closing the valve. 

The materials needed are inexpensive and for the most part 
can be found in any garage or home workshop. 

To install the device, proceed as follows: Procure a brass oil 
cup with a i^-inch pipe thread. To this should be soldered a 
piece of brass 1 1 /16 inch thick, inch wide and 2^4 inches long, 
shaped and drilled as shown in Fig. 1. The intake manifold 
should now be removed from the motor and tapped about 2]/ 2 
inches from the top with a j^-inch pipe thread and the oil cup 
inserted as in Fig. 1. The opening should face the dash and 
should be entirely open when the arm, soldered to the cup, is in 
the position designated by the dotted lines (Fig, 1). 

Next procure a light spiral spring, the kind commonly used in 
shade rollers being of the proper tension. Use the full length of 
the spring and with a pair of pliers fashion a loop at each end. 
Make two S hooks of stout wire and insert a hook in the loop 
at each end of the spring. One end of the spring should then be 
hooked to the arm on the oil cup and the other end to the adjust¬ 
ing bolt on the fan bracket. The S hooks should be squeezed 
together to prevent their jarring off on account of vibration 
(Fig. 2). 

As the purpose of the spring is to keep the air valve open, 
some means of closing the valve, when desired, must be used. 
This is accomplished 'by a lever on the steering post directly 
below the wheel. A copper bar % inch thick, x / 2 inch wide 
and 5j/2 inches long was bent into the shape shown in Fig. 3. 
Three holes should be drilled, one at each end and one at 
the center. Lay this piece on the upper side of the steering 
post directly below the wheel, and after marking the loca¬ 
tion of the two end holes, drill, tap and fasten this piece to the 
center hole, facing up (Fig. 3). Another piece of copper bar of 


2.IS 


THE CARBURETION SYSTEM 


219 


the same dimensions should be drilled, placing one hole inch 
from the end and another hole 2inches from the end. Place 
this piece over the one shown in Fig. 3, the center hole fitting over 
the machine screw. Over this put a small spiral spring and a nut. 
Screw down the nut until the tension is strong enough to hold 
the lever in any position, then rivet the end of the machine screw 
to prevent the nut from coming off (Fig. 4). 

The final step is to connect the lever and the air valve by a 
small flexible cable, such as that used on muffler cut-outs, run¬ 
ning through a hole in the dash to the right of the coil box. The 
























































220 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


air valve should be closed when the lever is in the position shown 
by dotted line in Fig. 4. 

Although some slight adjustments may be necessary in order 
to secure a satisfactory operation of the device, the air valve is 
now ready for use. The operation is as follows: Have the valve 
closed when cranking the car or difficulty will be experienced in 
starting. After the oar has attained a speed of fifteen miles per 
hour, slowly open the air valve. The car will now pick up to 
about eighteen miles per hour, when the throttle can be shut 
down to bring the car down to fifteen miles per hour again if de¬ 
sired. You are now using less gasoline and more air, still the 
speed is the same as before. As the speed of the car increases, 
the amount of air to be admitted can be greater, but the air valve 
should not be opened to such an extent as to cause the motor to 
buck. 

The use of this appliance will show an increase in gasoline 
mileage from three to six miles or a corresponding increase in 
speed if desired. After being installed on a Ford, the maximum 
speed was increased from forty-two to forty-eight miles per hour. 

In -addition to its use as a gasoline saver, I have used it to 
keep the motor free from carbon in the following way: Speed 
up the motor, open the air valve and by holding an oil can filled 
with water, inverted, at the opening of the air valve, the water 
will be drawn into the motor and converted into steam. Using a 
pint of water in this way every 300 miles will do much to reduce 
trouble from carbon deposits. Kerosene oil can be substituted 
for water with beneficial results. 

J. Adam Palm, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 

The Value of Extra Heat 

IV /TY first attempt at improving the efficiency of the Ford car- 
buretion system was to install on the intake manifold, just 
before it divides, an auxiliary air valve controlled by a wire lead¬ 
ing to the steering post. This device was not very successful in 
my case, as it gave the car a tendency to “buck,” especially at 
low speeds. 

I next tried a home-made device consisting of a small copper 
pipe attached at one end to the hole in the intake manifold made 
for the first air valve. The pipe was carried up and laid along 
the exhaust manifold and ended in an old gas shut off on the 
engine side of the dash. The handle of the valve was put 
through a hole in the dash so that it could be within reach of the 
driver. This device supplied hot air to the mixture and was much 
more successful than the first device. I have also found it very 
convenient for inserting small amounts of graphite into the 
engine cylinders occasionally to improve the compression. 


THE CARBURETION SYSTEM 


221 


My next attempt was the purchase of a widely advertised de¬ 
vice consisting of an automatically operated damper placed in the 
air intake pipe to the carburetor. This gives a rich mixture at 
low engine speeds and a leaner one at high speeds. This device 
gave me about 15 per cent more mileage per gallon of gas and 
greatly increased the flexibility of the car. My home-made aux¬ 
iliary device did not work as well after the installation of this 
apparatus, due probably to the mixture being pretty weak any- 


My latest scheme is to fill the space between the exhaust and 
intake manifolds with scraps of fine copper wire packed in as 
solidly as possible, and held in place by a piece of sheet iron bent 
around the exhaust manifold and clamped under the manifold 
clamps. This conducts the heat from the exhaust to the intake 
manifold, thus helping to vaporize the gases passing to the cylin¬ 
ders. I can now run with a somewhat weaker mixture than be¬ 
fore and can use the auxiliary air also. On a recent trip, of 190 
miles, about sixty of which was through mud so that chains had 
to be used, I made better than twenty-four miles to the gallon 
and no special effort was made to get a record. No one could 
ask more, even from the economical Ford. 

C. D. K., Worcester, Mass. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE LIGHTING SYSTEM 


IMPROVING FORD LIGHTING 


T a speed of twenty miles an hour or over the headlight 



1 * equipment of the Ford illuminates the road with startling 
effect; at ten miles and under, without the assistance of some 
additional device, the head lamps become hopelessly inefficient. 
The reason being, of course, that the current flow to the lamps 
varies with the speed at which the fly wheel magneto revolves. 

My first effort to increase their efficiency was to connect some 
eight dry batteries in series and install a two-way switch. This 
served more effectively than the magneto where in driving 
through difficult stretches the low speed gear was often used, 
and when on changing from low speed to high the current flow 
was so greatly reduced that one experienced the sense of blind¬ 
ness, similar to passing from a lighted room into the darkness, 
as the intensity of the lighting was so changed with the change 
in speed gearing. 

While the dry battery illumination was complete and lacked 
the fluctuating disposition of magneto current, yet I soon found 
that the cost was not proportionate with the service. 

After investigating several devices and obtaining advice from 
other Ford owners, experiencing similar difficulties, the equip¬ 
ment adopted consists of two 6-7 volt, twenty-one candlepower 
nitrogen filled bulbs and an inexpensive, yet very efficient light¬ 
ing control or switch which contains a choking coil and has steps 
or positions for changing the intensity of the current flow. The 
switch is mounted under the wheel on the steering column, with¬ 
in easy reach of the hand and supplies, addition to illumination, 
a means of returning a courtesy which the majority of motor¬ 
ists extend, that of dimming the head lamps while passing at 
night. 

The illumination at all times is superior to the direct lighted 
higher voltage bulbs formerly used, and the difficult stretches are 
more easily negotiated than with the previous equipment. 

After six months’ use the bulbs or switch have neither 
burned out nor been replaced and the few dollars expended in 
the equipment are amply repaid in the satisfaction and comfort 
experienced, both with the intensive illuminating service and the 


222 


THE LIGHTING SYSTEM 


223 


ability to dim the lamps on occasions, particularly while passing 
others at night. 

G. A. L., Washington, D. C. 

More Light, I Say 

To get enough light at low motor speeds, and yet not burn out 
the bulbs at high speeds, are the horns of the dilemma upon 
which the Ford lighting system is often hung. Then, too, it must 
not take too much current, or it will interfere with the ignition. 

The simplest plan I found was a switch and a wire, connected 
to the wire between the two headlights. When the switch was 
turned on the full force of the current was concentrated through 
one headlight. I tried this plan for a week, but ran the motor a 
little too fast one night and burned out one headlight bulb. To 
get home, I transferred the other bulb to that same headlight, 
but had to drive many miles at a painfully slow rate of speed to 
keep from burning out 'the remaining bulb. Then I removed 
the wire and switch, for the system required too much trouble to 
operate and was too apt to burn out bulbs. 

The second plan was based on the idea of burning the two 
bulbs in parallel, at low motor speeds. To change the connec¬ 
tions from series to parallel, I used a two-point double throw, or 
reversing, switch. As I had found manual control too much 
trouble and unreliable, I mounted this switch on an L-shaped 
iron strip, between the carburetor and the radiator. A piece of 
stiff piano wire was used to connect this switch with the throttle 
arm, so as to move the switch from parallel, at slow speeds, to 
series at higher motor speeds. 

This system worked pretty well, although there was a decided 
jump in the brilliancy of the lights, when the connection was 
changed from series to parallel. Also, there was a dark gap on 
the throttle. That is, the two notches between the series and 
parallel connection could not be used at night, as the lights would 
go out. I burned out one pair of bulbs by driving too fast down 
hill, with the clutch engaged and the throttle almost closed. 
After that, I always disengaged the clutch, and nearly closed the 
throttle, when descending grades. This gave a good light and 
tended to save gasoline. This system has had an advantage over 
the first system, in that both headlights are always used, thus 
complying wth the law, and safety first. When only one head¬ 
light is used, the driver of an approaching car may think it is a 
motor cycle and not allow enough of the road. 

My next adventure in headlight experiments was to install a 
small transformer, with the headlights connected in parallel. I 
only used this for a short time, as I had one of the older types 
of Ford magneto on my car, and the transformer took so much 


224 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


current that it did not leave enough for ignition on hard pulls 
on high gear. However, if my car had been fitted with a 1916, 
or later, Ford magneto, having three-quarter inch magnets, I 
think the transformer might have been a success, as these late 
magnetos give much more current than those of earlier date. The 
transformer necessarily takes more current, as some power must 
be wasted in transforming the current from one voltage to an¬ 
other, but the light is more uniform, because the inductive effect 
of the transformer coils tends to prevent the current at high 
speeds from becoming excessive. 

But the system that I now use consists of two fourteen-volt, 
twenty-one candlepower, nitrogen filled bulbs connected in paral¬ 
lel. While these nitrogen bulbs are more expensive, retailing at 
from seventy-five cents to a dollar, they are so much more effi¬ 
cient that they actually consume less current than the fifteen 
candlepower bulbs, with which the Ford is usually supplied. As 
these bulbs are of only fourteen volts, they burn brightly, even 
at low motor speeds. The self regulating quality of these bulbs 
tends to protect them at high motor speeds. 

For city use, I have added a little convenience in the form of 
an electric tail light and dimmer. The tail lamp bulb is of about 
the same amperage as that of the two headlight bulbs connected 
in parallel. And this tail lamp is connected in series with the 
headlight circuit. When the switch is opened, the tail lamp is 
turned on, and the amount of current taken by the tail lamp dims 
the headlight bulbs to comply with city ordinances. 

Murray Fahnestock, Pittsburgh, Pa. 


CHAPTER XVIII 

THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 

LUBRICATION TROUBLES WITH THE FORD 


FTER breaking in my Ford I felt that there was but one thing 



1 v wrong with the whole car—it was an “oil gusher.” I could 
not run over two hundred miles before the spark plugs were too 
dirty to fire properly, particularly number one. After each fif¬ 
teen hundred miles the job of removing carbon and grinding 
valves was necessary. 

But number one cylinder was my greatest worry. I put oversize 
rings in it, but that seemed to help little. I thought my car was 
peculiar in this fault, but inquiry among Ford owners showed 
that most of them had trouble with the same number one spark 
plug fouling quicker than any of the others. 

The Ford splash oiling system is arranged to give ample lubri¬ 
cation to the front cylinder in hill climbing, but this system fre¬ 
quently over-lubricates on level running. To remedy this trouble 
I removed the lower crank case cover which has the connecting 
rod oil “dips” pressed into it, cut a piece of wood to fit the back 
half of the front dip, laid it bottom up on a flat bench, and with a 
hammer mashed in the front dip about one-sixteenth inch from 
the center to the extreme front, and then replaced cover. The 
piece of wood was, of course, removed, having been put there 
merely to prevent the back half of the dip from going down with 
the front. This caused number one connecting rod to dip or 
splash into a smaller quantity of oil when running on a level 
without affecting the supply in hill climbing, as on a grade the 
front half of the depression holds practically no oil, since oil, like 
water, seeks its level. This has the desired effect of making the 
oil supply to the different cylinders more uniform, but it was uni¬ 
formly too much. Varying the grade of oil and the oil level in 
the engine was practically no help. 

I then decided to test the fitting of the pistons in the cylinders, 
so removed the motor head and lower crank case cover, and re¬ 
moved the pistons. With an accurate inside caliper and a pair 
of dividers (which I borrowed) I proceeded to measure the 
cylinder bore and piston diameters. I found that the cylinders 
varied .003", the pistons .004", and the piston clearance varied 
more than that, and since I had read two authorities who agreed 
that “the proper clearance between the skirt of an iron piston 
and the cylinder is .003",” I felt that I had found the trouble. 

I took careful measurements for the four cylinders, and with the 


225 


226 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


calipers and dividers selected four pistons from the large stock 
of a local Ford agency that had an exact clearance of .003" for 
each cylinder, and marked the number on each piston. I then 
fitted these pistons with good compression proof rings in place 
of the regular diagonal rings furnished and replaced the pistons 
in the motor. 

The result is a sweet running motor, with plenty of pep and 
power, plugs that look clean after 500 miles, and a motor that 
needs decarbonizing and valve grinding only after a season’s use. 

J. S. G., Richmond, Va. 

Correct Lubrication Means Conservation 


Q UITE in line with the nation’s plan of conserving comes the 
queston of economical upkeep of the Ford. 

In the Ford engine there are many parts moving simultaneously 
which are constantly covered with a thin film of oil, the oil tak¬ 
ing the wear instead of the metal. Repair men universally agree 
that 50 per cent of all engine troubles are directly traced to im¬ 
proper or insufficient lubrication, the most common of these being 
scored cylinders, worn pistons, rings, bearings, etc. 

At the end of the year, say perhaps that 15 per cent of your 
upkeep is checked against lubrication. Surely this is your small¬ 
est expense and herein lines the secret of economical upkeep. 

The writer has had considerable trouble with his Ford by hav¬ 
ing oil leak constantly past the piston rings into the combustion 
chambers. Several repair men failed to stop defect, so the writer 
took the engine down himself and bevelled the outside of each 
top ring with a file. The result of this filing, allowing the ring 
to ride over the oil on the cylinder walls on the upstroke and on 
the downstroke the square edge of the ring would scrape the oil 
down. 

The Ford owner who has run his car several years will find 
that the use of a heavier body of oil will give a better delivery of 
power, caused by making the various parts fit more tightly, thus 
aiding compression. 

Castor oil used in the timer will not gum up the rollers as 
easily as a heavier oil. 

The oil in the crank case should not be permitted to run freely 
from the top petcock. If this should drip sparingly there is 
enough oil to let the engine work at its best. 

For filling the grease cups, the best grease one can use is cup 
grease. There are six grease cups on the Ford. The two on 
the universal joint and the front end of the driveshaft housing 
are the most important and, too, are the most difficult to reach 
as removal of the floor boards is necessary. When a grease cup 
is empty, this fact is easily ascertained by the fact that the cap can¬ 
not be screwed down further. Fill each cap, force it all the way 


THE LUBRICATION SYSTEM 


227 


+ i . fi. i k a -' e °/^. a1 }^ } again as in this way you are assured 
tu r U j Cai } \ s ^ ein S properly fed to the wearing surface. 
a, fA i ax * e a na sty trick of throwing grease around 
the hub brakes. This can be overcome by installing new washers 
jn the axles. Bear in mind that a little and often is the best 
idea in lubrication. The rear axle housing must have just enough 
grease for the bevel gear to dip into and not more than this for 
here is the reason why grease flows from the ends of the axle. 

Bach Ford owner has his own ideas as to the upkeep of his 
engine, but many owners fail to locate troubles because they 
take only a limited view of the problem. A little thought and 
a diagnosis of each particular trouble as it appears, studying it 
thoroughly before it advances into more complications, will pre¬ 
vent many of the ailments of the Ford and tend to make its 
owner proud of the fact that he knows and understands the 
“insides” of the best little car in the world. 

Frederick Gilman Jopp, Edgewood, R. I. 


Fool Proof for Wise Men 

While the Ford oiling system is often described as “fool¬ 
proof,” it is my experience that not all Ford drivers are fools, 
and a more complete oiling system would be a boon to a great 
many Ford owners. 

Perhaps the most complained of feature of the Ford oiling 
system is the location of the “try-cocks” which form the only 
sure means of determining the oil level. A gauge glass is some¬ 
times installed in place of the lower pet cock, but it is liable to 
get dirty or clogged, or it may be broken by flying stones, with 
disastrous results. I have found it much better and safer to 
use a long handled wrench to open the oil cocks. This obviates 
crawling under the car. Such a wrench can be purchased from 
any accessory store. 

Frequent fouling of the spark plugs, particularly number one, 
on some Fords is usually blamed on the oiling system. This 
annoying trouble may be caused by using too much oil or the 
wrong kind of oil, or it may be due to worn pistons or rings 
or a scored cylinder; or in an old car to settling of the front 
spring which, of course, lowers the front end of the car and 
increases the head of oil under number one cylinder. My car 
had an apparently incurable case of dirty plugs in the front 
cylinder until I hit upon the expedient of drilling a 3/32" hole 
in the side of the cylinder oil return pipe opposite the second 
cylinder. This allowed a portion of the oil to escape without 
passing under number one cylinder, and reduced the amount of 
oil in the front of the motor to just the right extent. 

“Wolverine,” Detroit, Mich. 


CHAPTER XIX 


CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS 

•f 

ADJUSTING CONNECTING ROD BEARINGS 


A FTER many sad experiences, I have developed a system for 
adjusting the connecting rod bearings of the Ford car which, 
I think, will eliminate most of the difficulties the amateur repair 
man is liable to stumble over. Owing to the conditions at .hand 
there is not a great deal of room for originality, the chief requisite 
being patience and perseverance. 

Assuming that the repair man is to work alone, the procedure 
is as follows: 

Drain the oil from the crankcase and refill it with one gallon 
of kerosene, race the engine under its own power for about ten 
seconds and drain off the kerosene. The object of this is twofold: 
to give the mechanism a cleansing bath and to thin down the oil 
which clings to the internal parts, so that it will drain off rapidly 
and not continually drip in the operator’s face and run up his 
sleeve while he lies under the car. 

To perform this operation it is not necessary to remove the 
cylinder head, but the spark plugs should be taken out to relieve the 
engine of compression. It will also be found that time can be 
saved on the whole job by removing the front radius rods of what 
it commonly known as the wishbone and work will be much 
simplified, but this is not necessary. 

After blocking the rear wheels, place a jack under the central por¬ 
tion of the front axle and raise the front wheels a few inches off the 
ground, this will give more headroom underneath the car. For 
his further comfort the operator should provide himself with a 
block of wood about six inches high for a head rest while under 
the car, as this will relieve the neck muscles from a great deal of 
strain. 

The next operation is to remove the handhole cover from the 
bottom of the crankcase and wipe off any surplus oil which would 
drip from the crankshaft and connecting rods. 

Before going further I will say that the only special tool which 
it is advisable to have for this job is one of the double angled 
offset socket wrenches which are made particularly for Ford con¬ 
necting rods and which is practically necessary for No. 4 rod. 
They can be gotten at almost any supply house. 


228 


CONNECTING ROAD BEARINGS 


229 


Now it is necessary to loosen all the connecting rod caps, but 
do not remove them, merely back the nuts off a few turns after 
first extracting the cotter pins. While doing this it will be found 
necessary to turn the crankshaft over occasionally, and this can be 
accomplished by reaching overhead and turning the crank handle 
without getting out from under the car. 

Warning No. 1.—Keep the other hand out of the crankcase 
while turning the engine over. On one occasion the writer 
howled lustily for fifteen minutes, during which time his finger 
was jammed between a connecting rod and the camshaft, and he 
was unable to reverse the direction of the crankshaft and release 
the finger. It is just as well to advise here that a short pinch- 
bar is a handy tool to reverse the rotation of the crankshaft when 
necessary. 

Now take a center punch and mark the right hand side of all 
the connecting rod caps, so that after removal they may be 
replaced in their previous relative position. Take off No. 1 cap 
and remove the bolts. What I here say regarding bolts applies 
to all connecting rod bolts, especially No. 4 connecting rod. Put 
one of the bolts in a vise, stem up, and with a wrench run the nut 
up and down on the thread until it runs freely enough to be 
turned with the fingers the full length of the thread, easily. This 
will minimize the use of a wrench when replacing the caps. 
With a three cornered file make a groove on the end of the 
bolt in line with the cotter-pin holes. This will make it easy 
to line up the castellated nut when it is necessary to replace the 

cotter-pins. . 

If the engine is comparatively new and not badly worn it may 
only be necessary to remove the paper shims from the ends of 
the" connecting rod caps, but if badly worn it will be necessary 
to file the ends in order to bring the bearing surfaces closer to¬ 
gether. This is done by placing the cap in a vise and filing 
across both ends with a flat file and a slow, even stroke. Six or 
eight strokes should be enough if the bearing is not badly worn. 
In any case, put a few drops of oil on the bearing, replace the 
cap and tighten up the nuts. Now try turning the engine over 
by the crank handle, notice how it drags. There should be a 
perceptible resistance if the bearing, is- up properly, if not the 

caps should be removed and filed again. 

Warning No. 2.—Do not file off too much without a. trial 
Should the cap become too tight, so that great resistance is felt 
at the crank handle, make a few paper shims and place on the 
cap ends. Place an equal number of shuns on either side always. 
After a proper fit is obtained, back the nuts off until the bearing 
turns freely and proceed with No. 2 connecting rod. Repeat the 
process with No. 3 and No. 4, being sure that only one cap is 

tight at a time. 


230 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Warning No. 3.—While the caps are off the connecting rods 
be very careful not to let the piston slip down below the bottom 
of the stroke, as the lower piston ring would come below the 
bottom of the cylinder walls and expand, making a difficult job to 
replace it, also if the piston is pushed too far up in the cylinder 
the top ring will expand and make it necessary to remove the 
cylinder head to replace it. While working on No. 4 cap it may 
facilitate matters a little to remove the cap of No. 3 connecting 
rod and push the piston into the upper part of the cylinder, be 
careful not to go too far, however, and always replace if before 
turning the engine over. It is to be remembered that while 
working on any one bearing the other three are to be loose or 
else the proper resistance will not be noted at the crank handle. 
After all bearings are fitted tighten up the nuts and replace the 
cotter-pins. Now the file marks on the bolt ends will be appre¬ 
ciated. 

When all external parts are replaced and nine pints of fresh 
oil are in the crankcase it may be found that the operator is 
unable to crank the engine due to the tight bearings. Don’t let 
that frighten you, just get your next door neighbor to bring his 
Flivver around and give you a tow down the street. As soon as 
the oil works into the bearings, you will find that the engine 
works as well as before, minus that annoying connecting rod 
knock. 

Lewis A. Morrison, Yonkers, N. Y. 

Make Yourself Comfortable 

The best way I have found to fit the fourth connecting rod 
bearing on Ford motors is as follows: If you have no pit in 
your garage run the car up on to an elecator high enough to 
enable the mechanic to sit under the car with his back towards 
the front axle. Do not risk ropes or chain hoist to hang car on, 
or block rear wheels. Hoist car in front about three feet and 
put strong boxes under the front wheels. This permits the 
mechanic to sit on a box for working and is desirable because of 
the comfort and freedom afforded for the slow and tedious work 
of removing and replacing the nuts and caps. Next you dis 
connect the ball socket end of the front radius rod by removing 
the two nuts and cap. This will allow the end to spring down, 
and the movement of the hands will be unobstructed while ad 
justing. Next remove the crankcase lower cover and place a 
piece of cheese cloth or rag into the opening, between the crank¬ 
case and the magneto coil support to prevent nuts or cotter pins, 
which are likely to be dropped, from going into the oil 
reservoir and necessitating the disassembling of the motor 
for their removal. It is not necessary to take the cylinder 
head off. If you remove the spark plugs you can turn the 


CONNECTING ROAD BEARINGS 


231 


crankshaft easily. Assuming that the other connecting rod 
bearings are adjusted, loosen Nos. 1 and 2, so they do not 
bind on crankshaft, and remove cap on No. 3 entirely; do not 
replace until work on the fourth is complete. Always loosen 
the bearing when complete, then you can easily tell when 
they have the same tension when adjusting. A ten-inch 
monkey wrench can be used to advantage to turn the crank¬ 
shaft under the car to bring the offset ends to a position about 
254 inches to 3 inches from the crankcase opening. Then 
with your hand you can feel the play by pushing it up and 
down on connecting rod. Also in that position an “L” socket 
wrench will enter in between the crankcase and the cap. By 
turning the crankcase to the opposite side in a like position 
the other nut can be disconnected. With proper care and at¬ 
tention one, as a rule, can make it right the first time, provided 
the bearing is not worn too much. You don’t have to take it off 
more than once if you use a little judgment. The position 
of the rod caps on the shaft are indicated by notches filed 
on the side towards the camshaft and should be replaced in 
the same position. It is never well to adjust too closely, as 
some play is needed for an oil film. If the metal is forced 
into contact the surfaces will abrade and the babbitt cut 
quickly. When done adjusting, draw all nuts tight and lock 
with cotter pins. Before replacing the crankcase lower cover, 
remove cheese cloth from oil reservoir, which, if forgotten, is 
liable to clog the pipe that carries oil to front of crankcase 
and bring out front bearings. 

Harry A. Derstine, 

Quakertown, Pa. 


CHAPTER XX 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


CAUSES AND CURES OF OVERHEATING 


SIDE from an occasional mechanical defect, such as will 



sometimes appear in even the most carefully manu¬ 
factured article, there is but one real cause of a Ford over¬ 
heating—the driver. 

The engine and the lubricating and cooling systems have 
been carefully designed to maintain the most efficient engine 
temperature under average working conditions, and with 
proper care and operation will do so indefinitely. 

Good engineering will not permit of an “oversize cooling 
system,” for if such were used the motor would frequently 
run at a lower temperature than would be consistent with 
fuel economy. 

Therefore the margin between the normal running tem¬ 
perature of the cooling water and its boiling point of 212° 
Fahrenheit is left just large enough to absorb the extra 
heat occasioned by a series of sharp inclines or a hard pull 
through heavy roads and is not elastic enough to cover the 
hard usage to which many ignorant or careless owners sub¬ 
ject their cars. 

But two things are necessary to keep the engine from 
overheating. The first of these is the proper maintenance 
of its cooling and lubrication systems, together with any 
needed adjustments to the motor itself, and the second 
is the use of proper care in driving. 

The Ford cooling system depends upon but three things 
—these being the passage of air through the radiator, the 

circulation of the cooling water through the radiator and 

water jackets, and the conduction of the heat through the 

walls of the radiator tubes. 

But it takes a little care and effort to keep these three 
component parts at their proper efficiency. 

To insure the free circulation of air through the radiator 
openings, the dirt which is continually collecting there 
should be frequently removed with a hose from the back 
of the radiator; the fan belt should be kept tight and free 


232 


THE COOLING SYSTEM 


233 


from oil, and the fan bearing should be occasionally oiled, 
so that it will turn easily. And sometimes the fan blades 
can be so bent as to increase the volume of air moved by 
them. 

In order to maintain a good water circulation the radi¬ 
ator should be kept well filled, as a thermo-syphon system 
will stop circulating as soon as the water level falls below 
the radiator inlet. A frayed and leaking hose should be re¬ 
placed at once, and the radiator watched for signs of leaky 
tubes. 

The cooling water should be changed about once a week, 
the best way of doing this being to open the drain and 
allow fresh water to run through the system for several 
minutes. This will tend to remove any incrustation which 
may be adhering to the walls of either the radiator or the 
water jackets, and in this way preventing the free conduction 
of the heat. 

The softer the water the less scale will form, but any 
water used, even rain-water, should be strained. 

In localities where very hard water must be used, an oc¬ 
casional washing out with a lye solution consisting of a 
quarter of a pound of Hye to ten quarts of water, will help 
to keep the scale out. 

In driving, the spark should always be kept as far ad¬ 
vanced as it is possible without causing a knock, for the 
lower the spark is carried the hotter the motor will get. 

And this is where engine care is essential. When sup¬ 
plied with just the proper quantity of a high grade oil, 
when the gasoline mixture is right, when the valves are 
free from pits and seating properly, and when a correctly 
timed ignition system delivers a hot spark through clean 
and non-leaking spark plugs, the spark may be kept in a 
much more advanced position than if the power plant was 
not “running just right,” as the careless owner would say. 

And the man at the wheel should also remember that his 
low speed gears are supposed to be used at other times 
than when starting up. For “making everything on high” 
very frequently puts severe strains on the engine, and “strain” 
in this case is synonymous with “heat”; while care in avoid¬ 
ing excessive engine speeds when running on first speed 
will also materially reduce over-heating. 

Carbon in the cylinder is a common cause of over-heat¬ 
ing, as are the following: Poor mixture, water leaks, drag¬ 
ging brakes, slipping clutch, etc. 

G. R. Petrie, Newport News, Va. 


234 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Causes and Cures 

Overheating is responsible for Ford troubles and short¬ 
comings not necessarily enumerated here, but brief men¬ 
tion of causes will be made, which will suggest remedies. 
Among the more common are slipping belt, carbon, late spark, 
low water, overfeed of gasoline, insufficient or inferior lubri¬ 
cation, clogged water passages, clogged muffler, leakage past 
pistons, slipping clutch, dragging brakes, and sometimes worn 
valve gear, occasioning too late and too little opening and too 
early closing of exhaust valves. 

The use of hard water causes incrustation in water spaces 
which both insulate water from cooling and heating sur¬ 
faces and retards circulation; it may be removed by filling 
the system with caustic soda solution, two pounds per gallon 
of water, and leaving it in over night. Great care should 
be observed in handling caustic soda, as it burns severely 
and is especially dangerous to the eyes. Another way is to 
use one part of hydrochloric acid to twenty of water 
preferably using it hot, and leaving it in the system half an 
hour. After either treatment the system should be well 
washed out. Another method, safe but very slow, is to 
use only rain water, changing it frequently. Of course only 
rain water should have been used from the first, when 
everything is in good order but little water is required 
and all incrustation is avoided. Unfortunately it happens 
that the very engine that overheats is the one which in¬ 
variably goes on from bad to worse if the trouble is al¬ 
lowed to continue. 

Number plates in front of the radiator will hinder cool¬ 
ing to a marked degree; with the larger plates the worst 
offenders. 

Carbon in the cylinders is a common cause for excessive 
heating, and for this reason if no other its formation should 
be prevented so far as possible by the use of good oil in 
moderate quantity, avoidance of gasoline over-feed and the 
periodical introduction of kerosene or other efficient clean¬ 
sing agent. 

Pumps are advertised for increasing the water circulation, 
but their use adds complication and expense and destroys 
the peculiar benefits arising from thermo-syphon circula¬ 
tion. That pumps are unnecessary is proven by the thou¬ 
sands of Fords that are running satisfactorily without them. 
Their employment may be a distinct injury by masking the 
cause of trouble, which is then allowed to continue instead 
of being identified and remedied as it otherwise may be. 

Frank N. Blake, North Adams, Mass. 


CHAPTER XXI 

THE FORD CAMSHAFT 


REMOVING AND REPLACING CAMSHAFT 

T^\RAIN radiator and take it off. 

Remove valve covers. 

Remove lower crankcase cover or “door.” 

With valve lifter compress spring of one valve and raise the 
valve considerably off the push rod. Work the push rod up 
high enough so that a cotter pin or shingle nail can be pushed 
through the hole in the push rod shank. 

Repeat with each valve and push rod. 

Remove fan assembly and belt. 

Remove commuator case without disconnecting the valves and 
lay it in the engine pan. 

Remove commutator brush assembly. 

Remove cylinder front cover. Get all cap screws and bolts out 
before trying to start it. 

Take off large timing gear lock nut. 

Turn shaft so that the marks on the teeth of the two gears are 
together. 

Pull off large timing gear using puller (No. 1936 X, Parts 
Price List). 

Remove from the side of the crankcase the two set screws 
that hold the middle and front camshaft bearings. 

Pull out the shaft with the middle and front bearings on it. 
It will probably be necessary to use a light hammer through the 
crankcase door; at least, to start the bearings. 

Mark the front end of the new shaft in such a way that it 
will be possible, after the shaft is in place, to tell at a glance 
which way the first cam points. 

Fit middle and front bearings to the new shaft. 

Shove back into place, taking care that the holes in the bear¬ 
ings line up with the set screw holes in the crankcase. It will 
doubtless be necessary to tap the middle bearing back a little 
to make the holes line up. 

Put back the set screws. # t 

Test shaft to see that it does not bind. If new bearings have 

been fitted, it may be stiff. 


235 


236 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Turn so that cam number one points directly away from the 
crankshaft. 

Put back large gear, meshing according to the marks noted 
before. 

Put on large gear lock nut. 

Put back cylinder cover using a new paper liner. 

Put back commutator brush assembly. 

Put back commutator case and control rod. 

Put back fan assembly and belt. 

Pull the pins from the push rods allowing them to set down 
in place. 

Put back valve covers. 

Put back crankcase lower cover. 

Put back radiator and fill it. 

C. S. Hall, New Haven, Conn. 

Proper Procedure 

After a considerable period of service the cams and bearings 
of the camshaft, through wear, will result in considerable loss 
of power, and the renewal of this part is necessary if it is desired 
to restore the power of the motor to its normal or original 
condition. 

The removal of the camshaft of a Ford motor for inspection 
or renewal, as the occasion may require, is a simple procedure, 
and yet care should be exercised to see that every part is re¬ 
placed in its exact position when reassembling. 

Proceed by draining and removing the radiator, disconnecting 
the inlet and outlet water connections from the cylinder casting, 
unscrewing the stay rod that holds it to the dash and the two 
bolts that hold it to the frame. 

Remove the cylinder head casting by taking out the cap screws, 
take off the valve covers on the right side of the motor, and with 
the aid of a suitable tool, remove valves and springs. 

Disconnect the fan and fan bracket and the commutator cover 
without detaching the wires. 

Remove the lower cover of the crankcase, the commutator 
brush or roller from the end of the camshaft and unscrew the 
cap screws that hold the front cylinder cover in place. 

The front cylinder cover removal exposes to view the large 
timing or camshaft gear. The camshaft bearing screws, of which 
there are two, should not be unscrewed and the valve push rods 
raised up and retained in that position by fastening with twine 
or rubber bands. 

The camshaft and gear may now be removed through the for¬ 
ward end of the motor. 


THE FORD CAMSHAFT 


237 


Unscrew the lock nut and take out the dowel pins to remove 
the gear from the shaft. 

In assembling the gear on the camshaft see that the first cam 
is on the opposite side of the shaft from the zero (°) mark on 
the gear, and in replacing the camshaft be sure to have this mark 
coincide with the mark on the small timing gear on the crank¬ 
shaft. 

The cast iron bearings which are retained upon the shaft by 
split rings can be placed in their proper positions by working 
through the opening in the bottom of the crankcase. 

The remainder of the assembly is a reversal of the above 
procedure, but in replacing the commutator brush be sure that 
it is reinstated so that the first valve nearest the gear, which is 
an exhaust valve, is closed when the roller or brush is pointed 
upward. 

The liberal use of shellac on the gaskets will insure against 
oil and water leaks. 

G. A. L., Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE FORD TRANSMISSION SYSTEM 

TROUBLE IN THE TRANSMISSION 

TT is probable that worn transmission bands cause by far the 
-*■ largest part of the troubles experienced with the Ford planetary 
gears. As the linings of the transmission bands become worn 
and glazed, they will not grip the brake drums unless severe 
pressure is used and all the oil is squeezed out from between the 
bands and the drums. Then the bands are apt to take hold with 
a jerk, thus causing severe strains on the transmission and many 
other parts of the car. 

It will be necessary to reline the bands; when the service brake 
does not hold in spite of all the adjustment that can be made 
through the transmission cover plate, when the low speed band 
slips and the motor races while the car is not moving as fast as 
it should, or when these bands engage with a jerky or chattering 
action. 

As it is practically as easy to change all three transmission 
linings as it is to change one, because the largest part of the 
work is the removal and replacement of the transmission cover, 
it is advisable to equalize the wear between the three bands as 
much as possible so that all three will be worn out at the same 
time. By using the reverse pedal as a brake when retarding the 
car, but not making a complete stop, this will tend to wear out 
the reverse band at the same time as the foot brake, and the foot 
brake will last much longer if it is not so often used. By the 
alternate use of the reverse and foot brake on long hills, the 
oil will be given a chance to get between the brake drums and 
the transmission linings, thus preventing overheating and the 
charring of the band linings. 

If the brake bands are allowed to chatter, the jerking will tend 
to throw the momentum of the entire car against the transmission 
drums. This is the most frequent cause of cracked transmission 
drums, and a broken drum means that the entire motor and trans¬ 
mission must be removed from the car in order that new parts 
may be installed. If an atttempt is made to run with cracked 
brake drums, the broken edges of the drum will soon cut the 
transmission bands to pieces and may result in severe damage 
to the motor and transmission. 


238 


THE FORD TRANSMISSION SYSTEM 


239 


The breakage of the transmission drums may be due to the 
use of iron, instead of soft brass rivets for fastening the linings 
to the transmission bands. I hese hard rivets will score the 
drums, and thus cause eventual breakage. It is not advisable to 
use band linings having metallic reinforcements, as the use of 
such materials not only tends to cut and score the drums, but 
some, of the metallic particles worn from the linings are almost 
certain to short circuit the Ford magneto, which is in the same 
compartment, and cause the complete failure of the ignition 
system. 

It is advisable to bend the ends of the rivets crosswise, so as 
to distribute the. wear across the face of the drum. It is also 
well to countersink the rivets so as to reduce the wear on the 
drums as much as possible. 

The chatterng of the transmission bands may be due to not 
having these bands bent to conform to a true circle, so that 
they grip unevenly when pressure is applied through the foot 
pedal. 

When applying the low speed gear the driver should press the 
pedal slowly but steadily, and when the low speed is once engaged, 
the pressure should be firm and hard, so that there will be no 
slipping between the transmission band and the low speed drum. 

Other parts that sometimes give trouble are worn bushings in 
the triple gears. This is made evident by a sort of rumbling roar, 
when the low speed or the reverse are in use. The only remedy 
is to take the transmission apart and insert new bushings. As 
the bushings must be reamed to size, after they have been forced 
into the gears, this is not a task for the amateur repairman. 

It is very seldom that the teeth of these triple gears show signs 
of wear, but when they are worn they will cause a growling 
sound. The teeth of these gears can be inspected through the 
transmission cover plate. It sometimes happens that the rivets 
holding the triple gears together are tight or not. It is also 
occurs, it is useless for the owner to try to tighten these rivets 
himself. For, unless the three gears are held in accurate align¬ 
ment, while the rivets are being tightened, all the strain will be 
carried through one set of the triple gears instead of being dis¬ 
tributed among the three sets of gears as it should be. It is 
not generally possible to tell by the sound whether these rivets 
holding the triple gears together are tight or not. It is also 
important that the teeth of the driven gear be in good condition, 
as this gear receives considerable wear. 

A sprung crankcase might cause a grind in the transmission, 
and if the car has been bumped against an obstruction on the 
road it is well to inspect this part as a possible source of trouble. 
As the rear of the transmission is supported by the universal 


240 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


ball cap and has a babbit lining, this lining should be inspected 
for wear, for if it is badly worn it will throw the transmission 
out of alignment. 

Murray Fahnestock, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Proper Lubrication the Most Important Factor 

With the planetary or epicyclic speed gear and combined 
multiple disc clutch, the type of transmission employed in the 
Ford car, in which the gears are always in mesh, there is remote 
possibility of injury to mechanism, except through defective parts 
or by an accident, and under ordinary conditions of usage, it 
should offer no necessity for its overhaul under some twenty 
thousand miles of the car’s travel, but adjustments of the re¬ 
stricting bands and clutch spring are necessary when the condi¬ 
tions demand. 

The contracting clutch bands which are faced with an asbestos 
lining will sometimes become glazed, a condition .evidenced by 
their engaging the drums with a jerky action, under which con¬ 
ditions they should be relined or replaced. 

The action of the glazed bands is detrimental to the welfare 
of those parts which are affected by the harsh torsional strains 
to which the universal joint, propeller shaft and rear axles are 
subjected and has a tendency to crystallize the metal, resulting in 
frequent unaccountable breaking of these parts. 

Loosened rivets and bolts in the chassis may be attributed to 
the strain that this harsh jerky action of the band acting through 
the transmission imposes upon the car. 

The glazed conditions of the asbestos lining is the result of 
wear, excessive use, or a change of lubricant. A change from 
an oil having a paraffin base to one with an asphaltum base will 
result in this condition; whatever may be the cause the only 
remedy is to replace them. 

With this gearing, when low and reverse speeds are used there 
is an unusual amount of friction, which results in rapid wear of 
the bearings. Worn bearings cause the gears to emit a pro¬ 
nounced whirring or grinding sound. It is necessary under these 
conditions to have the bearings replaced by a mechanic with 
proper equipment and tools necessary to force the old bearings 
out and the new ones into place, reaming them out to the proper 
diameter to fit snugly upon the shafts. 

The multiple disc clutch seldom needs attention, the only re¬ 
quirement being the proper tension of the coil spring to give 
sufficient frictional contact between the plates. If there is a 
tendency for the car to move forward when the motor is cranked, 
this is due to the oil congealing between the surfaces of the 
clutch discs. 


THE FORD TRANSMISSION SYSTEM 


241 


A lighter grade of lubricant or a thorough cleansing of the 
crankcase with kerosene is necessary, for oil which has been used 
for a considerable period of time becomes dirty and is unsuitable 
for use because of its waxy consistency. 

The transmission bands should always be adjusted loosely to 
prevent them from bearing against the revolving drums, pro¬ 
ducing wear and friction. Proper lubrication is the best atten¬ 
tion that the individual should give this particular transmission 
and if repairs are necessary place them in the hands of a 
competent mechanic familiar with this type of car. 

G. A. L., Washington, D. C. 


REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION BANDS 

'T'HE removal and replacement of the three transmission bands 
of the Ford car is one of those jobs which can be more 
easily and quickly done with the help of a little headwork than 
by using only main strength and awkwardness. 

I am going to try to describe my method of performing this 
operation with one hand. (I use but one because I have but 
one to use.) 

First, disconnect magneto, wire and remove all bolts holding 
transmission cover on and lift the cover off (take the whole 
cover off, not just the door). The bands may then be removed 
by slipping them forward over the triple gears, one at a time, 
turning part way round and withdraw by spreading open slightly. 

When ready to put them on again you can readily slip them 
back over the drums in the same manner in which they were 
removed. Then comes the replacing of the transmission cover, 
and, in the words of the inimitable Cal Stewart, “that’s the 
time when the fun begins” if you go at it in the way which 
seems to be most commonly done. But the proper way is to 
take small copper or other soft wire and put around the “ears” 
on the ends of each band and twist the wire up until it draws 
the band up tight on the drum. Do this with each band and 
then take your transmission cover and remove the adjusting nuts, 
washers and springs, remove the pedals and lay them aside. 
Now with a pair of tongs or wide-mouthed pliers compress each 
of the three springs and slide it into its place between the ends 
of the band. Next replace the transmission cover, and in doing 
so see that the clutch release ring goes into its groove in the 
shift; put a bolt in on each side of the cover to keep it in place, 
after which proceed to replace the pedals by starting with the > 
front one (R) and sliding it carefully through the “ears” and 
the spring far enough to start the washer and adjusting nut on. 



242 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


Next put in the rear pedal (B) in the same manner, and last 

the middle one (C). After the pedals are in, cut the wires and 

draw them out, being careful not to drop any into the inside, as 

they would probably cause trouble with the magneto. Adjust 

the bands up close, but not enough to make them drag. I have 
found a small wrench, made especially for these particular ad¬ 
justments on the Ford, to be almost indispensable. They are 
usually made with a hole in the end of the handle for attaching 
a cord for use in case the wrench be accidentally dropped into 
the inside. 

Now replace remaining cover bolts, and put on transmission 
cover “door,” and the job is done. 

I have completed this whole operation with one hand and 
without help in one-fourth the time I have seen a professional 
repairman, with helper, take for the same job simply because 
they tried to put the cover on, keep the clutch release ring in 
place, keep the bands in place and force all three springs into 
position all at the same time, and if you don’t think that is some 
job, just try it. 


A. C. J., Boston, Mass. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


TRANSFORMING THE FORD INTO A 

SPEEDSTER 

TN remodeling a Ford car into a speedster, three factors stand 

out as being essential in obtaining the desired results. They 
are as follows: 

1. Maximum efficiency in all mechanical parts. 

2. The reduction of wind resistance. 

3. The lowering of the center of gravity to enable the car to 
hold the road at high speeds. 

Cooling: If the car is to be used for any sustained periods of 
fast driving, it would be advisable to replace the present radiator 
with one of greater capacity. A radiator of the “V” type would 
be preferable, as this would meet all needs for cooling and also 
adapts itself readily to the method of lowering the frame out¬ 
lined later in this article. Another safeguard against overheat¬ 
ing would be the installation of a reliable water-circulator which 
should be selected with the greatest care as its failure to perform 
its functions might result in serious damage to the motor. 

Oiling: With the splash system of oiling as used in the Ford 
motor, there is no constant oil level in the crankcase when the 
motor is running, so that an oil gauge would be of little value. 
However, an auxiliary oil reservoir could be installed to supply 
oil to the crankcase either by gravity, and controlled by a petcock 
on the dash, or by a small pump. 

Ignition: Although the Ford magneto will give good results 
if the vibrator points are carefully adjusted and all wires properly 
insulated, a high tension magneto will give increased power and 
greater flexibility to the motor. 

Motor: In the motor, several changes can be made which 
will increase the power. The first change would be to reduce 
the weight of the pistons and connecting rods either by sub¬ 
stituting aluminum pistons, and connecting rods or lightening 
the weight of those already in the car by drilling holes in them. 
In the pistons, these holes should be F i" in diameter, and placed 
24" apart, just below the wrist pin. In the connecting rods, five 
holes, spaced 24" apart, drilled through the thin part of the 
I-beam section will be sufficient. (Fig. 3.) As the weight of 


243 


244 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the pistons should be approximately equal, it may be necessary 
to drill additional holes in some of the pistons to bring them 
down to the weight of the lightest one. If the cylinders are 
scored or badly worn, it would be advisable to have the block 
rebored and oversize pistons fitted. 

Another change would be to advance the valve timing by mov: 
ing the camshaft one or two teeth forward. To get the maximum 
results, it would be necessary to have a new camshaft made which 
would give a longer valve opening. 

There has lately been put on the market, for use on the Ford 
motor, a cylinder head containing 16 overhead valves and their 
attendant mechanism. It is claimed that a Ford car, geared for 



speed, and equipped with this cylinder head, attained a speed 
of over 75 m.p.h. 

A larger carbureter and larger intake and exhaust manifolds 
will contribute toward increased power in the motor. 

The use of a foot accelerator, of which there are several types 
for use on Ford cars, will prove to be of great convenience. 

No changes in the transmission are advised. 

In the rear end, the only change would be to substitute the 
present pinion and crown gears which have a ratio of 3.63 to 1, 
with new gears having a ratio of 2.75 to 1. 

If any trouble is being experienced with the ball bearings in 
the front wheels they should be replaced with roller bearings. 

The solution of the problem of reducing wind resistance can 
be brought about principally by the mounting of a new body. 




















TRANSFORMING THE FORD 


245 


This should be low and of the streamline type. It can either be 
built to order, bought ready made or built by the car owner him¬ 
self. In this, the owner will be governed by his purse. If built 
by the car owner, it would be advisable to buy a set of patterns. 
These patterns, together with such parts as the tail piece, which 
the amateur builder is not in a position to make, can be obtained 
for a nominal sum. The parts which offer the most resistance 
to wind are the fenders, windshield and top. They should be 
eliminated. The rear of the body should be pointed to decrease 
the effect of suction. The seats should be lowered, which will 

mean lowering the steering post. 

To solve our third problem, that of lowering the center ot 
»ravity the method employed will probably require the services 
of a blacksmith but as the work to be done is very simple the 
cost should not exceed $15. The frame should be lowered about 
five inches. This will necessitate the making of one front and 
two rear brackets as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The fiont bracke , 
which should be made of 14 by 5 inch stock, clamps over the 
front spring and the bottom ends are bolted to the front cross 
member of the frame. The rear brackets, of *4 by 2 inch stock, 
are bolted to the rear cross member of the frame atter the frame 
has been sawed off as shown in Fig. 2. In connection with the 
rear brackets, great care must be exercised not to alter the posi¬ 
tion of the rear axle in relation to the frame either backward 
or forward. A longer starting crank will be required but u a 
“V” type radiator is used, as suggested, a new crank will b 
furnished with it. This style of radiator also projects^over t 
front soring and improves the appearance, of the front ot the 
car As the front axle will now be slightly in front ot the frame, 
it will be necessary to lengthen the front radius rod about 3 
inches by cutting and welding in the necessary amount The 
steering knuckles should be bent down enough to allow the tie 
rod to clear the radius rod and crankcase. 

T. Adam Palm, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 

Reduce Weight and Wind Resistance 

t ^ : n converting a Ford car into a speedster, the 

Consequently , the weight must be decreased to a , «d 

long tail—-which f/ r h V^ t A aS Lnens te in budding this body, 
adapt one yourself with bucket seats. 


246 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


In order to keep the car on the road at high speeds, it is 
essential that the chassis or frame of your Ford be underslung. 
This is made possible by using brackets or “goosenecks” in lower¬ 
ing the chassis. By this arrangement you can also increase the 
wheelbase a few more inches, thereby increasing the riding quali¬ 
ties of your car. 

The next step to follow would be to fit in a larger carbureter, 
a high-tension magneto, although you will find any one of the 
standard makes of battery systems will give very good results. 

A racing camshaft may be installed. After this is installed, 
the timing gears should be set ahead a notch at a time until the 
best results are secured. 

Counterbalances may be used. This will give you a smoother 
running engine. Lighter connecting rods may also be used. Also 
lighter pistons, and any standard makes of piston rings may be 
used to great advantage in lightening the working parts of your 
Ford engine in high speed work. 

After any or all of the above equipment is installed, you will 
find the engine will have considerably more speed and power. 

C. C. Leong, Hakalau, Hawaii. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE CONTROL SYSTEM 


IMPROVING FORD CONTROLS 


A FEATURE in the Ford control that requires practice 
to accomplish without stalling the motor is that of re¬ 
versing the car. 

To reverse this car it is necessary to set the hand lever in 
neutral position and as there is no means for readily deter¬ 
mining where the lever should be placed, I overcame this 
fault with a simple slot or depression cut into the speed lever 
bracket on the control shaft. 

The advantage of this slot is that when the hand lever is 
moved, the clutch lever bracket adjusting screw drops 
slightly into the depression and when the foot is removed 
from the clutch pedal, the screw does not slide down the 
incline on the back of the speed lever bracket, engaging the 
high speed clutch and stall the engine. Additional to stop¬ 
ping the motor from premature engagement of high speed, 
another condition is that when the hand lever is pulled back 
too far it engages the emergency brakes, under which cir 
cumstances, when the reverse pedal is used, it has to move 
the car against the brake pressure or otherwise, as is usual 
the engine is choked. The depression can be cut with either 
file or saw at the apex or point where the inclined face and 
curved surfaces on the speed lever bracket meet and should 
be about one-sixteenth of an inch by three-eighths of an 
inch wide. 

To obtain the best results from the carbureter on the 
Ford under various running conditions, where sand hills 
and mud are encountered, the dash needle valve adjustment 
needs frequent manipulation. High gasoline mileage requires 
adjustment for a lean mixture, while for heavy pulling with 
an open throttle, the needle valve needs opening to provide 
more fuel for the increased slow moving volume of air. 

To overcome the necessity of reaching forward to the 
right of the dash with the accompanying danger of running 
off the road, while adjusting the needle valve and addition¬ 
ally evade the oft-repeated question of “what is that for?” 


247 


248 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


from the occupant of the adjoining seat, I attached an adjust¬ 
ing rod under the steering column with a connecting lever to 
the adjusting needle stem, making it as easy to turn the 
needle valve as to open the throttle. The adjusting rod is 
fastened to two small clips to the steering post, with a hole 
drilled through the dash flange for the rod to pass. The 
connecting rod passes through the opening on the cylinder 
block and is fastened to the adjusting needle by a sheet 
metal strip on the needle stem, this being held by the prongs 
of the dash adjuster. 

To complete the attachment I shaped a piece of sheet brass 
to go under the bent ended dash adjuster. The sheet metal 
dial is stamped with the words “hot and cold” and inter¬ 
mediate lines marked off for adjustment to a degree c 
opening. The end of the dash adjuster was filed to remove 
some of the flattened end and make the indicator more fin¬ 
ished in appearance. 

Some owners will often wonder how others obtain high mile¬ 
age from gasoline on Fords, the secret lies in the use of the 
needle valve, the control as suggested simplifies its adjustment. 
Additional to being economical a lean mixture results in a cleaner 
engine interior and less spark plug sooting, for the excess oxygen 
accomplishes a more complete combustion. 

G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 

THE THIRD OF THREE 

“What makes more noise than a pig under a fence?” We all 
know that the answer is two pigs, which is a self-evident truth. 
Now let us try another question, as to what is nicer than a girl, 
and the logic is two girls, although two girls are sometimes more 
conversational than logical. 

Having proved the necessity of carrying three persons in a 
runabout, or in the front seat of a Ford touring car, we now 
can show the possibility of changing the control system so that 
three passengers can be carried. 

When carrying the third of three, the seat cushion is pulled 
forward a couple of inches, the driver sits back in one corner, 
the middle passenger sits forward a little, and the other pas 
senger sits back in the far corner. Now the driver can only 
reach the clutch and reverse pedals conveniently, but this is 
enough for a good driver. The reverse can be used as a brake 
to retard the progress of the Ford car, and the car can be 
stopped entirely by the simple use of the hand brake. 

An accelerator cannot be used with the left foot, for that foot, 
is needed for clutch control. When operating the clutch, the 


THE CONTROL SYSTEM 


249 


throttle is most needed. The accelerator, even if one is used, 
cannot be reached by the driver’s right foot, when there are three 
in the front seat, because the passengers interfere. 

Since the driver is so far to one side, he can reach the left 
hand lever as easily, but he has to reach around the steering 
column to get to the right hand lever which controls the throttle. 
This is unfortunate, because the spark lever does not have to be 
moved often, but the throttle has to be changed frequently, for 
traffic driving, or rough country roads. 

It is possible, of course, to transfer the spark and throttle 
controls, under the hood, but this is not easy, because the throttle 
rod is not long enough to carry the spark lever rod arm at its 
lower end. The change involves no more than a couple of hours 
repairshop work. 

For this reason, I have made an extension throttle arm, from 
a piece of copper tubing. This tubing is almost flattened at one 
end, so that it slips easily over the flattened end of the throttle 
lever. It is held in place by a cotter pin, which slips through 
a hole drilled through both tube and throttle lever. The tube is 
bent over, and reaches across to the other side of the steering 
column. Thus, it is easy to manipulate both spark and throttle 
controls with the left hand, while steering with the right hand, 
without continually bumping into the passengers. When driv¬ 
ing alone, or with only one passenger, the tube is easily taken 
off, and the control is normal. 

I have also mounted a switch, on the side of the body, next 
to the driver’s seat, so that the igntion can be easily switched on 
and off without disturbing the passengers. 

Murray Fahnestock, Pittsburgh, Pa. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE STEERING SYSTEM 


FOR EASIER FORD STEERING 


TTACHMENTS for the Ford steering gear are designed 



1 * either to make steering more safe and easy, or to eliminate 
noise resulting from wear in the ball joints or spindle arm bush¬ 
ings, or to separate the Ford owner from his money. 

Most devices of the first group are intended to help the driver 
to keep a straight course and to assist in bringing the front 
wheels back to the straight position after turning a corner. This 
is accomplished by means of springs which resist any movement 
of the steering gear to the right or left. In my experience, when 
a Ford driver feels the need of such a device to help him stay 
on the road, the trouble is due either to a bent wishbone, to front 
wheels out of line, or to badly worn spindle body bushings. If 
these conditions are remedied and the steering gear well lubri¬ 
cated the car will “hang straight” on a flat level road and, after 
rounding a curve, it will straighten out almost of itself. 

Wear in the ball joints, if taken up according to the instruc¬ 
tions given in the Ford Manual, is a constant source of noise 
and trouble, and when the ball in the upper joint gets worn out 
of round this method becomes impossible unless new parts are 
installed, for if the cap is filed enough to stop the rattle when 
the car is on a straight road the joint will bind when turning a 
corner. The familiar, adjustable, spring type of anti-rattler 
which replaces the ball cap gives excellent results if made of 
good material, an essential qualification. 

Wear in the spindle arm joints produces vibration and noise 
which, once started, becomes rapidly worse. If allowed to pro¬ 
ceed the bushings themselves will get loose. The usual remedy 
is to renew the bushings. If the spindle body bushings are not 
renewed at the same time the steering gear will turn easily with 
both front wheels jacked up but when the jacks are removed the 
spindle arm joints will bind because of play in the body bushings. 
Adjustment by renewing the bushings is satisfactory but short¬ 
lived unless vibration is eliminated by means of some sort of 

anti-rattler. ... ^ 

There are three types of anti-rattlers for this joint. One sub¬ 
stitutes a taper bolt which can be screwed down into a taper 


250 


THE STEERING SYSTEM 


251 


bushing as wear occurs. The trouble with this method is that 
wear never occurs equally on all sides of the bushing or bolt and 
adjustment is apt to cause the joint to bind. Another method 
employs a U- or V-shaped spring that fits between the throat 
of the connecting rod yoke and the end of the spindle arm, pro¬ 
ducing a lateral pressure on the spindle arm bolt. This device 
stops the rattle and is easily applied but it actually helps slightly 
to wear the bushing out of round, and is inferior, I think, to 
another type. The latter consists of a device for exerting a 
downward pressure on each end of the connecting rod. This 
may be done either by a pull on the bottom of the spindle arm 
bolt or by a push on the top of it. An appliance for doing the 
pulling has given me fairly good service but a much simpler 
device of my own has proved even better. 

The success of such an appliance as the foregoing can be 
greatly increased if, at the time of installation, the old spindle 
arm bushings are replaced with spindle body bushings reamed 
out to fit the spindle arms bolts. This gives a bronze flange for 
the wear due to the weight of the connecting rod and the pressure 
of the springs, and at the same time fills the space caused by 
previous wear. If there is not room enough for the flange be¬ 
tween the arms of the yoke a little stock can be filed from the 
top surface of the arm where the flange will seat or the flange 
itself can be filed thinner. This arrangement, in addition, puts 
an end to annoyance caused by a loose bushing, a condition 
arising often enough when plain bushings are used. 

I might add that an attachment between the oil can and the 
driver, which results in constant lubrication of the steering gear 
joints, is about the best that can be secured to keep the efficiency 
of the Ford steering mechanism at its best. 

E. S. Hall, New Haven, Conn. 

Getting the Best from a Multitude 

Accessories and attachments for the Ford steering gear are 
almost legion, and no private owner can hope to experiment 
with all of them. I have tried a fair share of them in the last 
two or three years, however, and it has been my experience that 
very few such attachments are really necessary. 

The most prominent steering gear attachment is probably the 
type of device which clamps to the center of the front axle and 
the spindle tie rod, and by means of springs pulls the spindle tie 
rod back to a central position whenever the wheels are turned. 
I had a device of this type on my car for a time last season, as 
the car was rather hard to steer. I found that this device cer¬ 
tainly made steering quite a bit easier. When I had had it on 
the car a couple of months the front radius rod broke at one 


252 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


end and I installed a new one, and after that I noticed that the 
car was easier than ever to steer in a straight line; but it took 
quite an effort to turn. As an experiment I removed the 
auxiliary steering device and then found that the car steered 
perfectly. 

As nearly as I can figure it out there must be some variation 
in the length of front radius rods, and the second pair were 
probably a little longer than the first, and so. held the front axle 
a little further forward. This gave a caster effect which was 
not present, at least not to the same extent with the old radius 
rods. 

I have since found that by bending the front spring perches 
slightly the axle can be tilted forward and the same effect 
obtained. 

The auxiliary steering device used last summer has since been 
discarded. 

A larger steering wheel (17-inch size) makes steering a lot 
easier. A tilting type is convenient, but not necessary. 

Anti-rattlers and adjustable ball sockets are very much adver¬ 
tised and they are very handy things to have, after a car has been 
in use for a few months. A good substitute for the spring type 
ball socket caps is to use two fan adjusting screws with castle 
nuts (the same size as those used on the crankcase bolts) and 
front radius rod stud springs, using the standard steering ball 
socket cap. Of course, the fan screws must be drilled near the 
end for cotter keys. This can be done by running the plain nut 
on the screw and then the castle nut, locking the two together 
in the proper position by turning them against one another, and 
then drilling the cotter pin hole between two of the prongs of 
the castellated nut. 


“Wolverine,” Detroit, Mich. 


CHAPTER XXVI 

THE REAR AXLE 


STRENGTHENING THE REAR AXLE 

'T"'HE “Universal” car comes into this world in much the 
same condition as the rest of us. It is supplied with all 
the necessary parts to make it go, but is stripped down to 
the skin in so far as improvements are concerned. This 
is a necessary feature of a car designed to meet the needs 
of such a widely varying class of purchasers. 

The most complete line of accessories is available for 
those who take enough interest in their cars to improve them. 
This line is so extensive that one can complete his Ford to 
suit his own individual taste. 

Unfortunately there is a natural tendency to select those 
accessories which add to the appearance of the car, and to 
neglect those which serve only a utilitarian purpose. 

Those fittings designed to reinforce the rear axle as¬ 
sembly come in the latter class and are not generally given 
the consideration they deserve. The differential and the 
geared connection with propeller shaft form a three-point 
drive which must be kept absolutely rigid if strains are to 
be kept at a minimum. There is more or less flexibility to 
the spherical differential housing, as can be easily seen by 
watching the rear axle of a car running over a rough road. 
In order to reduce this a rear axle truss is almost a necessity. 
This is a truss rod fitted with turnbuckle and attaches to 
break drum housings by means of splint clamps. Its attach¬ 
ment takes but a few minutes time and its cost is less than 
one dollar. If it saves one gear breakage it pays for itself 
many times over. 

The joint between the propeller tube and lower flange 
connection is subjected to very severe strains, particularly 
when sudden changes in speed occur. In order to correct 
this there has recently been placed on the market a malleable 
quadrant brace which clamps the propeller tube and bolts 
to top of the differential housing; thereby effectually stiffen¬ 
ing this weak point of the rear assembly. 

When wear occurs between the differential thrust washers 


253 


254 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the large gear moves away from the pinion, transferring the 
strains to the outer ends of the gear teeth. This is the usual 
cause of gear breakage. The cure for this is naturally to re¬ 
place these thrust washers before the wear becomes ex¬ 
cessive. Unfortunately it is necessary to take down the entire 
rear assembly to detect such excessive wear. Assuming 
proper lubrication, a safe rule is to take it down at the end 
of each season’s running, or from 5,000 to 7,500 miles’ use. 
When the differential is opened up it is a real economy to 
substitute a ball thrust for the usual form of washers. The 
life of these patented ball thrust washers will be equal to 
that of the car and their cost well spent if they save a gear 
breakage. 

The installation of shock absorbers is usually decided 
upon on account of the smooth riding qualities. It is not 
generally realized by the average car owner, that they also 
serve to reduce the upkeep and general wear and tear by 
reducing the hammer blows from a partially cushioned chassis 
and body. The rear assembly comes in for its share of 
these. 

In the matter of lubrication the rear assembly generally gets 
too much where it is not needed and not enough where it is 
essential. The differential housing should be kept reason¬ 
ably full of a fairly thin grease. It should not, however, 
be packed to such an extent that the grease must find an 
outlet by way of the emergency brake housings and drums. 
In order to avoid this it is necessary to renew the felt 
washers between the outer bearing caps and the inside of 
rear hubs quite frequently. There have been a number of 
special devices marketed with the idea of correcting this an¬ 
noying feature. The best of these is a combination of a 
spiral which slips over the shaft and a set of metal and felt 
washers. This device goes back of the outer roller bearings 
and serves as a screw pump to feed back any grease which 
works out along the shafts. Its cost is considerably less than 
one dollar and, on the score of cleanliness alone, is well 
worth its price. 

The regular emergency brake bands of the Ford, being 
an iron to iron proposition, give poor results at best, and are 
practically useless if drums are full of grease. The cure 
for this is the substitution of bands lined with regular brake 
lining. In selecting these obtain if possible those made 
of one piece of band steel. The others, in common with 
the regular cast unlined band, occasionally break and, when 
they do, make a nasty mess of the inside of your brake 


THE REAR AXLE 


255 


housing. A bent shaft and badly scored drum is almost 
sure to result. 

Lubrication by means of oil is a mistake when applied to 
the spring shackles, both front and rear. Any slow mov¬ 
ing bearing needs grease and not oil. To correct this faulty 
means of lubrication substitute small grease cups for the 
oil cups on all shackles. 

Proper spring lubrication is neglected by the average 
car owner. To spread the spring leaves for insertion of 
grease is a trying and messy job. Oil squirted on the out¬ 
side runs off before it can enter between the leaves. The 
only practicable means of keeping springs lubricated at all 
times is the attachment of spring oilers. These are of many 
forms, but all on same principle—a metal cup in which is 
placed a heavy felt pad to hold the oil. These oilers act 
by supplying a very small amount of oil continuously, while 
the springs are in motion. Rusty springs and breakages 
go hand in hand, one broken leaf will pay for several sets 
of spring oilers. 

After having attended to all these points there is still left 
one spot which is the source of a continuous and annoying 
squeak in most cars. This point is where the rear spring is 
bolted inside of the rear frame channel. You will notice a pair 
of bright spots on your spring just below the lower edge 
of this channel, the width of this representing the maximum 
movement of the spring at this point. To kill this squeak 
simply soak pieces of soft rag in oil and force up tight in 
the triangular pocket formed by the frame channel and the 
top arch of the spring. Renew these from time to time 
and you will have a quiet running rear spring action. 

As the total cost of all the fittings mentioned above is 
less than ten dollars, or about the cost of one ordinary 
rear assembly breakage, they are unquestionably a good in¬ 
vestment. In addition you have the satisfaction that results 
. from a smooth running car. Their attachment involves 
little time and is within the ability of anyone with sufficient 
knowledge to warrant his operating an automobile. 

S. B. Hood, Minneapolis, Minn. 

A Little Paint for the Lily 

The transmission band linings are probably the greatest 
source of repair expense on the average Ford car. But if 
these bands are taken care of there will be less deprecia¬ 
tion on the other parts of the car, espcially the rear axle 
parts and less liability of accident. As the cost of these 


256 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


band linings is small, compared with the cost of installing 
them, it is wise economy to purchase the very best grade 
ot band linings obtainable. The usual charge for installing 
a set of band linings is $2. A set of the best band linings 
costs about $3, making a total cost of $5. Now the cheap 
band linings cost about seventy-five cents, including rivets, 
making a total cost of $2.75. Thus, by paying about twenty- 
five per cent more, a 200 or 300 per cent better job is ob¬ 
tained, and the car does not have to be sent to the shop so 
often, at the loss and the inconvenience of the car owner. 

Skillful driving will easily make the bands last twice as 
long and will also be easier on the entire car. There is a 
knack in applying the Ford pedals, and the peculiar con¬ 
struction of the Ford transmission must be understood by 
the car driver in order that the best results may be ob¬ 
tained. Now these transmission bands are applied to cast 
iron drums and constantly run in oil. But more bands are 
ruined by charring than by actual wear. This charring forms 
a glaze on the fabric lining that makes the bands slip until 
they are pressed onto the drums with great force. Then 
these glazed bands seize the drums unevenly and chatter, 
causing strains that are injurious to the motor and rear 
axle parts and are hard on tires by causing the wheels to 
slide. Charring of the bands can be prevented by using the 
brakes alternately on long, steep hills. By applying the 
brakes intermittently, the oil has a chance to get between 
the brake linings and the drums, thus cooling them off 
before the bands become hot enough to char and burn. 

Harry A. Derstine, Quakertown, Pa. 

MAKING REAR AXLE GREASE TIGHT 

1V/TY Ford car caused considerable annoyance by leaking 
grease from the joint where the halves of the dif¬ 
ferential housing were joined. 

The remedy that I adopted and found successful was an 
inexpensive double truss-rod. 

Cut shows how this double truss-rod is attached. 

Refer to Fig. 1. Truss-rod A-A passes under the differ¬ 
ential housing. Truss-rod B-B passes back of the housing. 

Without truss-rod A-A, rear axle sags and housing bolts at 
bottom stretch, thus opening joint X-Y at the bottom. Truss- 
rod A-A when attached prevents sagging and relieves strain 
on bolts. Joint X-Y stays -tight at the bottom. 

Refer to Fig. 2. Strut-rods C-C and D-D should be kept 



THE REAR AXLE 


257 


tight. Propeller-shaft tube E-E takes the strain caused by 
tightening the strut-rods and forces the differential housing 
backward, stretching the housing bolts at the rear and open¬ 
ing joint X-Y at this place. 

Truss-rod B-B when attached prevents this backward 
movement of housing, and removes the strain on housing 
bolts. Joint X-Y stays tight at the rear. 

Summing up. Truss-rod A-A prevents joint opening at 
bottom. Truss-rod B B prevents joint opening at rear 
Strut-rods with propeller shaft tube prevent joint opening 
at front. 

It is a very simple, inexpensive and effective remedy. 

Leakage of grease at the brake drums is a very disagree¬ 
able and dangerous feature. Besides smearing the rear 
wheels, this grease puts the brakes in a practically useless 
condition. The best remedy for this trouble is to renew the 
felt washers at the outer rear axle bearings. 

The cause of this leakage in the majority of cases is an 
excess of lubricant in the differential housing. By the time 
that this grease has reached the outer roller bearings in the 
rear axle housing it is practically worn out as a lubricant, 
and if it could be removed from the housing, it would be a 
benefit to the bearings. It can be got rid of in the follow¬ 
ing manner: Refer to Fig. 1. Drill a quarter-inch hole 
through bottom of axle housing at outer ends as shown in 
cut. This will allow the surplus grease to work out at these 
two places. In practical use, I have found that none will 
drip except when the wheels are turning. Your garage 
floor will stay clean. 

Geo. S. Brown, Norwich, Conn. 

No Special Device Needed 

Many suggestions have been offered as a means of pre¬ 
venting grease from leaking out around the rear wheels of 
a Model T Ford car. It has been the experience of the 
writer, however, that no special device is needed provided 
the grease used is of the proper consistency and provided 
there is not too much grease used. It has been found by 
actual measurement that one gallon of fluid will entirely 
fill the rear axle housing of a Model T Ford; however, it 
is not necessary to entirely fill the axle housing, neither is 
it necessary to make it half-full, as a great many owners are 
in the habit of doing—the best results will be obtained 
when the grease takes up a little less than one-fourth of 
the total capacity, or approximately three pints. 


258 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


Any good gear compound may be used, but it should be 
of a semi-fluid grade; in fact, the writer has obtained ex¬ 
cellent results with heavy steam cylinder oil. 

Some owners use a “cup grease” in their rear axle, but 
satisfactory results cannot be obtained from cup grease 
because of the fact that the grease cut “tracks” into its 




body, thus preventing anything more than momentary con¬ 
tact with their teeth and the other parts requiring lubrication. 

A great many owners imagine that it is necessary to en¬ 
tirely fill the rear axle housing in order to lubricate the 
axle shaft roller bearings. This, however, is a mistaken idea, 

































THE REAR AXLE 


259 


as the inner roller bearings get sufficient lubrication from 
the grease thrown off the differential gear, and provision 
has been made to supply the outer roller bearings through 
the grease cups—one on each end of the axle housing. These 
cups should be screwed down two or three turns each week 
—each cup holds sufficient grease for 500 miles. 

If the above directions are followed closely the owner will 
have no cause to complain of grease leaks. 

If you are already bothered with a grease leak, on account 
of too much grease having been put into the axle, the trouble 
can easily and quickly be remedied as follows: 

Jack up the axle on the side where the grease leak is, so 
wheel will clear the ground, remove hub cap, take cotter 
pin out of the end of the axle shaft and remove the rear hub 
lock nut. Next remove the wheel (it is advisable to use the 
regular Ford wheel puller for this purpose), remove the rear 
hub key. Next remove the axle housing cap, this can easily 
be done by gently forcing off with a screwdriver. Next 
take a small wire and catch hold of the end of the axle 
shaft roller bearing and pull it out. Next lower the jack 
so that the outer end of the axle housing will be about six 
inches lower than the center, then start motor and allow 
it to run in high gear for several minutes. It will now be 
observed that the surplus grease will begin to run out of 
the axle housing. This operation should be continued as 
long as the grease runs freely. The motor should then 
be stopped and the gears placed in neutral. By means of 
a piece of waste or rag attached to a small iron rod any 
grease remaining in the outer part of the housing can be 
swabbed out. 

As the cost of the axle outer roller bearing felt washer, 
together with the rear hub felt washer, is but ten cents, it 
is advisable when assembling to replace these parts with 
new ones. 

It must be remembered that it is only necessary to put 
grease into the differential case (or axle housing) once every 
1,000 miles, and then only one-half pint. A little forethought 
and systematic inspection of the lubricant containers will 
obviate most lubrication troubles. 

R. C. B., Pittsburgh, Pa. 


CHAPTER XXVII 

THE RUNNING GEAR 


WHEELS, RIMS AND TIRES 


H AVING experimented with undersize tires and oversize 
tires in equipping a Ford, my experience has proven, 
very conclusively, for me that oversize tires possess other 
advantages than economy. 

The larger tires carry an over-burden without damage; 
they negotiate sand and mud roads more readily and reduce con¬ 
siderably the chances of a puncture or a blow-out. 

The change to oversize was not made in the front wheel 
equipment as is usually done, by adding 31x3^ inch, but 
31x4 inch tires were used to replace the 30x3j4 inch rear 
shoes and the front tires 30x3 inch remained the same. 

Normally the small tires ran from 10,000 to 12,000 miles, 
before they needed replacing, while the rear tires would 
never give over 5,000 or 6,000 miles of wear. The 31 x 4 inch 
shoes, run from 8,000 to 10,000 miles, with a singular freedom 
from trouble, which nearly equalizes the tire wear all around. 

Previously i I used interchangeable equipment of 30x3 
inch tires on a two passenger car. This was made pos¬ 
sible by purchasing from the Ford agent 30x3 inch wheel 
spoke and rim assemblies, which was used to replace the 
rear wheel spokes and rims. The wheel change cost about 
four dollars and the tires cost about one-third less than 
30x3*4 inch. 

While the tires were interchangeable, they might just 
as well not be so, for all the changing done was on the rears. 

We looked for blow outs weekly and they occurred with 
alarming regularity, it being- a matter of only a few months 
before the small tires were discarded, as being entirely 
inadequate for their task. 

It is possible to equip with the same size tires 30x314 
inch all around, by purchasing for only a few dollars the 
rear wheel spoke and rim assemblies and placing these 
on the hubs of the front wheels. 

The general appearance of a Ford is bettered by the 
addition of demountable rims and larger front tires, but it 


260 


THE RUNNING GEAR 


261 


seems hard to convince a Ford owner that he should carry 
around an extra tire and rim to obtain the convenience 
that this equipment provides. I have found that the spare 
tire if placed in the curved face of the left front fender 
(as on the Hudson) and held by four clips, two near the 
running board and two about eighteen inches up on the 
fender, with buckled leather straps and a tire iron, with 
pad-lock attachment, bolted immediately behind the left 
side lamp, the spare improves the appearance of the car 
and in no way interferes with the oiling or greasing of 
the rear axle as when a rear tire holder is used, nor does it 
interfere with opening the left side door. 

Any one who has driven a Ford equipped with wire wheels 
will agree that this feature adds materially to the riding 
qualities, offsetting to a large extent the stiff action of the 
short springs. 

I have not as yet added wire wheels to the Ford I drive, 
but it is my intention to do so, as I believe the ideal equip¬ 
ment will be the combination of wire wheels with oversize 
31x4 inch tires on the rears. 

The wheels which I intended to use are not of the demount¬ 
able variety, but of the plain clincher type, interchangeable with 
the hubs and tires now used and cost about thirty dollars 
for the complete set. 

There is no questioning the fact that wire wheels add 
materially to the mileage of the tires and, though the initial 
cost may be high, the ultimate saving in tires and the 
car’s mechanism, not to mention the improved riding qual¬ 
ities, make this investment worth serious consideration. 

G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 

Oversize and Double Tread 

In the spring of 1914, I purchased a new Ford car and by 
careful driving was granted immunity from tire trouble 
until the fall of that year. After series of punctures, which 
in some instances made it necessary to remove a left casing 
on narrow roads subject to heavy traffic, I resolved to turn 
a twenty minute job into a five minute one by equipping 
the car with demountable rims. 

My resolution resulted in the purchase of a set of four 
wheels equipped with demountable rims, and one extra 
rim, of the type secured to the wheel by five bolts. These 
rims are of the clincher type, split diagonally and kept in 
alignment by a plate and four lugs, two each side of the 
valve stem. When the tire is on the rim, the plate, which 


262 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


contains five holes, slips over the valve stem and the four 
lugs. The lugs project about H of an inch above the plate 
and fit into four holes, in the felloe, which prevents the 
rim from shifting with its consequent tearing off of the 
valve stem. The rim, being split, is flexible, which greatly 
facilitates the removal or replacement of a tire. 

The additional weight of the demountable rims and the 
larger tires on the front wheels has no apparent effect on 
the starting, stopping, hill climbing, steering or mechanism 
of the car. If any additional gasoline is consumed because 
of this extra weight, it is negligible and more than compensated 
for by the saving in tires. 

Briefly, the advantages offered by the use of demountable 
rims in place of the plain clincher type are as follows: 

1. In time saved, especially in stormy weather or heavy 
traffic; the disagreeable part of the work being done in the 
garage. 

2. In increased tire mileage, due to the use of oversize tires 
on the front and the practicability of moving tires from 
the rear to the front wheels or vice versa. 

3. In the interchangeability of casings and tubes thereby 
permitting fewer spares to be carried. 

My experience with oversize tires was gained through 
the use of demountable rims which necessitated the use of 
30 x ZYi inch tires on the front wheels instead of the standard 
30x3 inch and also by the use of “double tread” tires. 

I found that larger tires on the front wheels gave ap¬ 
proximately forty-five per cent greater mileage than the 
standard 30x3 inch tires and that the cost of the larger 
tires was only thirty per cent greater. 

About a year ago when the prices of tires began to ad¬ 
vance, I resorted to the use of “double tread” tires. These 
tires are made of two used casings of the same size and have 
the same appearance and offer the same advantages as over 
size tires. The bead is cut off of one casing which is then 
forced over the other casing and the two held together by 
two rows of stitching extending along each side wall. I 
have obtained good results by the use of these tires both 
from the standpoint of economy and freedom from punctures. 

J. Adam Palm, Mt. Vernon, N. Y. 


BRACING RADIUS RODS 


V/fY Ford lying on her side in the ditch, friend wife badly 
shaken up and scared worse, myself somewhat scratched 
and baffled as to how to make a temporary repair that would 



THE RUNNING GEAR 


263 


last twenty miles back home—all caused by a broken front 
radius rod—first made me give serious thought to that part 
of the car, which previously I had taken for granted the same 
as a door handle. 

Radius rods are Ford essentials. Without them the front 
wheels could not be steered nor the rear wheels driven, and 
an accident to the radius rod usually means an accident to 
the car and passengers. The amount of strain on these radius 
rods is in direct proportion to the speed of the car, the weight 
of the loaded car, and the irregularities of the road, and, 



naturally, a well loaded car driven over rough roads has far 
more need for extra strong, or braced, radius rods than a 
runabout driven on paved streets. 

Fig. 1 shows the effect of a road bump. The force is ex¬ 
pended in two directions, up and back, which is equivalent to 
between the two right angle directions, about the direction of 
“A.” If this force is greater than the strength of the radius 
rod one of two things must happen. Either it will be sheared 
off at point “B,” or one or both sides of the rod will be bent 
4o the shape of an inverted V, and both of these things have 
the same result, the steering gear becomes useless and a more 
or less serious accident is almost a certainty. Nearly every 
unavoidable accident to a Ford attributed to a deranged steer¬ 
ing gear is caused by a broken or bent front radius rod. 

Bracing is the logical method of strengthening a front 
radius rod. A tubular L or I beam brace has much greater 
strength than a solid brace of the same weight. This brace 
should be placed as in Fig. 2, from below the front axle to 
near the rear end of the radius rod, in a way that no amount 
of rearward force can make the brace go further back than 
where originally fastened. Since there are a number of good 
braces on the market that can be bought for $2.50 or less, 









264 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


there is practically no economy in a home-made brace. The 
front radius rod with the auxiliary brace gives a “three point” 
radius rod, which construction is mechanically right. 

A glance at the sketch of the rear radius rod shows that 
this part is made in this desirable manner, and in an inter¬ 
view with a large jobber in this city who handles Ford parts. 
I was told that he had shipped to repair men in the “Rough 
Road” sections of Virginia and the Carolinas more than 
twelve hundred front radius rods during 1918, but never car¬ 
ried rear radius rods in stock because he never had a call 
for them. J. S. G., Richmond, Va. 

Re-inforcement Essential 

The slenderest parts of the forward radius rods on a Ford 
chassis are the machine turned connections which go through 
the spring perches. The front axle has a normal slant for- 


















































THE RUNNING GEAR 


265 


ward of about five degrees, but with a Ford used for heavy 
work or trucking purposes this slant is increased by per- 
menanent bending at this weakest spot, until rapid wear of 
the front tires gives a “costly” reminder that something is 
wrong. 

A reinforcing bracket, which we have successfully applied 
to several converted Ford trucks, is as shown in the ac¬ 
companying sketch and consists of a one and one-half inch 
wide by one-quarter inch thick flat steel plate, drilled at one 
end for a five-eighth inch bolt and at the opposite end is 
drilled for three-eighth inch bolts. It is held under the 
axle by the nut which fastens the spring perch down and at 
the radius rod, is held by a “U” shaped hanger and two 
nuts. The hanger is simply a piece of three-eighth inch 
steel rod, threaded at each end and bent to the required 
shape. This feature is inconspicuous and can be made from 
most any flat material, such as a broken spring leaf. While 
in service it safeguards the car against the danger of radius 
rod breaking or against abnormal tire wear. 

Without a reinforcement of this kind, a Ford should never 
be towed by a line direct to the axle, for this will bend the 
radius rods immediately. 

The rear radius rods are frequently bent, about eight 
inches forward of the “Y” shaped arms, connecting to the 
hubs of the rear axle. This is due not so much to over¬ 
loading, but to heavy pulling through sand and hilly country 
when the car is driven vigorously in low gear. In two in¬ 
stances I have seen the radius rods not alone bent, but the 
attached ends of the rear springs also, with the rivets in the 
axle housings sheared and loosened. 

A brace to strengthen this part by carrying the torque 
or thrust farther away from the axle is shown also in the 
sketch. The idea was borrowed from a Virginian who uses 
his car in the Blue Ridge Mountains and had an ingenious 
blacksmith undertake the job of strengthenenig the rods, 
which he did with similar braces. 

The braces are of three-eighth inch flat plate steel, four¬ 
teen inches long. The shape of the fasteners and the widths 
are similar to the rear ends of the rods, now on the car. 
The “Y” ends are drilled one-half inch in diameter for the 
hub bolts and the forward ends have one-quarter inch holes 
for similar sized bolts. 

The most important part of fitting a brace here is to have 


266 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


the hub bolts snug fitting and the forward end, a push fit 
on the sides of the radius rod, a sort of three point bearing. 

When the radius rod deflects as it does, though but slightly, 
the brace will be bearing against the hub bolts and radius 
rod and make it into one solid rigid support, and quick 
starts or stops with a loaded car on a grade can be made 
without danger of this weak spot in the rear radius rods 
giving way. 


G. A. Luers, Washington, D. C. 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


GENERAL MAINTENANCE 
SUGGESTIONS 

CUTTING DOWN OPERATING COST 

TN operating my Ford car from January 1, 1916, to De- 
cember 1, 1916, I find that the record kept of the oper¬ 
ating costs reveals some interesting facts. In order that 
these facts may be intelligently discussed, the items of cost 
are shown in the following table: 


Mileage for 11 months.,.5,367 

Interest .$41.80 

Miscellaneous . 25.85 

Repairs . 45.45 

Gasoline (287 gallons).. .66.78 

Oil (33 quarts). 7.35 

Tires . 90.05 


Total .$277.28 


Interest is figured at 6 per cent on $512.00, the cost of the 
car and extra equipment. Miscellaneous expense includes 
washing, storage when away from home, ferry, tolls, charges, 
etc. Repairs include such charges as are generally grouped 
under this head. Gasoline costs twenty-five cents per gal¬ 
lon as a rule, although a few mountain trips when it was 
necessary to pay eighty cents to a dollar a gallon ran the 
average up to twenty-six and a half cents per gallon. A 
high-grade of cylinder oil was used and one standard brand 
was adhered to costing eighty cents per gallon. Tire costs 
include casings, tubes and repairs to same. 

The car has been operated over dirt, gravel and cement 
roads on the floor of the Sacramento Valley for about eighty- 
five per cent of its mileage and the Sierra Nevada and 
Coast Range mountains the balance of the time. The car 
had run 6,036 miles prior to this record. 

From the table it will be seen that the item of tires is the 


267 











268 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


largest single expense in operating the car, as it amounts 
to .0167 cents per mile. Non-skid tires of a well-known 
make, ranking second in point of cost to any fabric tires 
made, were used on the rear wheels during the eleven months 
under consideration. Three-inch tires of a cheaper grade 
were used on the front wheels for a time, but as they 
bruised and cut much more readily than those on the rear 
they were replaced with three and one-half inch tires of 
the same make as the rear tires, resulting in a reduced 
number of punctures and a less cost per mile. This change 
in connection with buying the best tires to be had on the 
market is offered as an important suggestion in reducing 
tire cost. 

The average cost per mile for gasoline was .0124 cents, 
making it next to tires in point of expense. As the car 
averaged 18.7 miles per gallon of gasoline over a long period 
with varying read and weather conditions, the only sugges¬ 
tion for increased mileage would be to use a little more 
care in adjusting the carburetor from the seat after the 
car was on the road. 

Oil shows a very satisfactory mileage, the car having made 
162.9 miles per quart. This was obtained by using a high- 
grade of oil, keeping the oil-level always between the pet 
cocks on the crank case, and keeping the gaskets on the 
engine in good condition. The cost per mile of but .000136 
cents for oil is so low that no can afford to use anything 
but the best grade of lubricant. 

The above figures show a total cost per mile for tires, 
gasoline and oil of .02936, or almost three cents at the 
California prices for gasoline and oil. 

Repair expense may seem to be large, but as the car had 
already traveled 6,036 miles and all repair work was done 
immediately and thoroughly by high-priced mechanics, the 
figure is in reason. 

From the foregoing it is shown that the total cost per 
mile, including every charge that should properly be made 
by the man who drives his own car and keeps it at home, 
is .0516 cents per mile. 

Charles B. Weeks, Red Bluff, Cal. 

Systematic Care the Best Economizer 

On June 1st last I purchased a 1914 Ford that had been 
run 10,000 miles. It appeared on the surface to be in good 
condition, and like a chump I took the salesman’s assurance 
of recent thorough overhauling as the truth. 


GENERAL. MAINTENANCE SUGGESTIONS 


269 


When I later got through overhauling, which included 
a complete overhauling of engine transmission and rear 
axle, I had spent just $60 more on the car. Having over¬ 
hauled everything but the muffler, I know it is in good con¬ 
dition now. 

During this five and one-half months we have driven 
3,905 miles over roads ranging from asphalt streets to 
mountain corduroy and crushed rock spread loose. Our 
average speed has been from 15 to 22 miles, usually 18 or 
19. In my opinion, on average roads, one has no business 
going over 20 miles with a Ford unless he is in a hurry to 
wear it out and get a new one. The tires on my car 
Goodrich in front and Nobby Tread in rear—had gone about 
2,000 miles when we got the car. They now stand about 
6,000 miles. I expect 1,500 more from the front tires and 
2,000 more from the rear. 

After I reached 4,000 miles’ wear I put full innerliners 
in all tires. We have had four punctures, no blowouts or 
other tire troubles. We have a good pump and pressure 
gauge and use them both. My son and myself take all care 
of the machine. We keep it clean, tight, full of oil and gas, 
and treat it right. I shall repaint the car this winter. The 
only prospective expense for next season will be new tires 
all round, when we will be ready for five or six thousand 
miles in the open air. 


Costs: 

Complete overhauling .P-JJ 

Extras—accelerator, pump, wrenches, etc.. 10.00 


Operating cost: 

Gas, 177 gals, at 20 cents 
Oil, 6 gals, at 80 cents. .. 

Innerliners . 

Inner tubes, two... 

Tube repair material... 
Gas saver. 


$70.00 

25.40 
4.80 
10.00 
7.00 
3.00 
, 1.00 


$61.20 

Thirty-nine hundred and five miles at a cost of $61.20 
is 1.58 cents per mile. This average cost will decrease per 
mile until new tires are necessary, but will never exceed 











270 


THE CARE OP THE CAR 


two cents per mile. Even if I add overhauling costs to 
operating cost it then only reaches 3.35 cents per mile. 

Against total expense of $131.20 is $17 street carfare 
saved, the smallest doctor-bill in years, improved health 
of family, and a love for the open we never had before. 

Of the legion of accessories, we have only tried three— 
a foot throttle, which I would not do without; an oil gauge 
and a gas saver, which helped about two miles per gallon. 
We are waiting for more proof as to some loudly adver¬ 
tised articles. 

My best advice about cutting down expense is not to make 
the expense in the first place. Fast driving is the most 
expensive thing of all, unintelligent use of carburetor next 
so. Go out for the pure pleasure of the drive, not to see 
how fast you can go. Never mind what the other fellow 
does—attend to your own business, obey all traffic rules 
read a good trade paper and keep a scrap book of sensible 
hints, and you will have many thousand miles of pleasure 
at a most reasonable cost. 

In short moderate speed, careful usage, intelligent clean¬ 
ing and care, repairs at the instant needed, and treatment as 
a piece of fine machinery and not a lumber wagon, will answer 
the question of economy. 

J. H. Zehrung, Portland, Ore. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


COLD WEATHER DIFFICULTIES 

ipRACTICALLY all of the troubles found in operating 
* the Ford car during the winter months are directly 
due to poor vaporization of the fuel. The answer to all 
of the problems presented is the proper application of heat, 
both for easy starting and for efficient running. 

The worst trouble is encountered in starting the engine. 
One may crank sometimes for half an hour without getting 
a single explosion, except an explosion of temper. One 
may prime an engine until gasoline leaks from every pore 
(figuratively speaking) with no better results. Possibly 
after a time, with a splutter and a skip, the engine starts. 
It may be that after ten minutes of running the engine will 
begin to function normally, but the mileage per gallon of 
gasoline is low. 

The writer has had all of the trouble of trying to persuade 
a balky Ford engine to operate that the average motorist 
encounters. He has come to the conclusion that reasoning 
with the machine does no good; cussing less; and hot water 
poured over the carburetor is both unhandy and messy. 
Fortunately his garage is wired for electric lights, a fact 
that enables him to solve the whole problem of starting. 


About fifteen minutes before the car is to be started, an 
old electric flat iron heating unit is connected with the 
lighting circuit and slipped in back of the carburetor. By 
the time the car is to be started, the carburetor, manifold 
and side of the engine is heated to such an extent that the 
gasoline vaporizes even better than in summer. The engine 
will start on the first turn. The device is rather crude but 
strikingly effective, for it sure does prod the old engine into 
action on a cold morning. 

So much for starting the engine. While on the road, the 
lighting circuit is hardly practical as a source of heat supply, 
so other means must be resorted to in order to keep the fuel 
warm. The ordinary Ford stove on the manifold is rather 
small for extremely cold weather, so to get the degree of 
heat necessary for good vaporization a hot air stove, made 
from a length of tin extending the whole length of the ex- 


271 


272 


THE CARE OF THE CAR 


haust manifold, is attached. The connection is made with 
the regular carburetor pipe in the usual way, the results 
being extremely gratifying. 

If the Ford owner does not have light connections in the 
garage he may adopt either of the following means for start¬ 
ing the refactory engine. Soak a sponge with ether and hold 
it against the carburetor intake; this usually brings prompt 
results when the car is cranked. He may put a coil of German 
silver wire around the carburetor bowl and connect either 
with the storage battery or four dry cells. The coil must, 
of course, be insulated from the bowl. 

Ford cars are not fitted with priming cocks, but the owner 
may install one priming cock in the manifold at the V, 
through which a drop or so of ether may be poured. This 
liquid is very volatile and furnishes enough gas for the first 
two or three explosions; after this the engine will usually 
run on the gasoline in the carburetor. 

F. L. A., Providence, R. I. 

Many Helpful Sugestions 

The first cold weather trouble with the Ford came after 
having it drained of course, in the yard all night, with the 
temperature below freezing. In the steam-heated garage 
the motor turned easily on cold mornings, but this morn¬ 
ing it was impossible to spin it even when filled with hot 
water. The congealed oil needed the heat of an internal 
explosion to loosen it. Six dry cells were hooked to the 
vacant post on the coil and the stiff motor trouble was over¬ 
come. Four turns with the air shut off and two with the 
valve open, and the engine goes. Just a bit more gas at first, 
but that can be cut down in a minute or two. 

The stock hot air pipe is very susceptible to cold, and a 
puff of cold air will slow the engine up at once. After hav¬ 
ing this happen a few times, also having the engine stall 
from a too sudden opening of the throttle, an automatic 
air valve and hot air pipe combined was put on. That two- 
minute job stopped the air trouble. The first result of the 
new air tube was one-half turn less on the needle valve; 
also the sudden and sometimes unavoidable yanking open 
of the throttle does not stall the engine. The automatic 
air valve can be heard picking up just the right amount of 
air for the situation and the engine goes right along with¬ 
out a kick, and picks up without choking to death. Also the 


COLD WEATHER DIFFICULTIES 


273 


car throttles down much better and the engine pulls at low 
speeds, both of which help in traffic. 

Then came a patent manifold with exhaust and inlet in 
one casting. This is a great help on the getaway. Crank 
her up and by the time the driver is ready everything is 
running as smoothly as in summer and there is plenty of 
power. This does not mean that one should at once go out 
and race or climb a heavy hill, as the oil has not had a chance 
to warm up and to flow properly. But the engine is there 
with its smooth running and power and one can go down tlie 
street on high and not popping and banking on low, trying 
to “warm her up.” 

Following the suggestion of G. A. Luers in the December 
MoToR, the needle valve adjustment was carried to the steer¬ 
ing column and that has turned out “some improvement.” 
No trouble to adjust for the varying road conditions as 
they come. 

The commutator was carefully cleaned and is now oiled 
with light oil. The Ford company recommends one-quarter 
kerosene, but kerosene is not much of a lubricant and a good 
light oil is better, in my judgment, backed by experience. 

The radiator was filled with a good non-freezing compound, 
a radiator cover fitted and a thermometer put on the radi¬ 
ator cap. If the meter is watched and the cover adjusted 
to help keep the red liquid at “hot motor,” the power and 
economy are greatly improved. Most Fords run too cold 
in winter. 

Care must be taken to see that the proper oil and grease 
are used. A lighter oil than in summer, as many oils will not 
run at low temperatures and something may burn out before 
the oil can get warm and flow properly. A lighter grease 
should be used in the cups—vaseline is good—and some 
heavy oil, such as black steam engine oil, should go in the 
differential. Or else a small amount of engine oil should 
be mixed in with the grease to prevent the gears from merely 
cutting a channel. Oil all cups carefully and see that the 
oil goes where it is intended and is not blocked by water 
and snow freezing in the oil channels. Put chains on all 
four wheels and the Ford will run in any winter weather 
with the best of them. 


J. C. C., Yonkers, N. Y. 


» 













































INDEX 


PAGE 

Aligning 1 the wheels . 142 

Anti-Freezing solutions . 188 

Anti-Freeze solutions, experience with. 191 

Applying clamp . 90 

Arm, making distributor . 27 

Attachments, headlight. 78 

Autogenous welding . 90 

Axle, Ford rear . 253 

Axle, rear . 133 


Backfiring in carbureter . 43 

Bands, transmission for . 241 

Battery, care of . 72 

Battery, testing of . 68 

Bearings, connecting rod . 228 

Bearing, repairing of . 168 

Bettering of car performance . 9 

Blowout, patching of. 154 

Bracing radius rods . 262 

Brakes . 136 

Brakes, repairing of. 177 

Braking . 6 

Bushings, replacing steering knuckle . 11 


Camping, Motor . 

Camshaft, Ford . 

Camshaft, removing and replacing . 

Car, cleaning of . 

Car, handling of . 

Car performance, bettering of . 

Carburetion, and fuel feed systems. 

Carburetion system for Fords. 

Carbon, removal of. 

Carbureter, hot jacketed . 

Carbureter, jacketed . 

Carbureter, backfiring in . 

Care of battery . 

Care of magneto . 

Care of oiling system . 

Caring for steering gear . 

Causes, classifying .. 

Causes of engine knocks .. . • 

Caustic soda, cleaning radiator with 

Changing of tire . 

Clamp, how to apply . 

Cleaning the car . 

Cleaning radiator ... 

Cleaning the windshield . 

Clutch, proper care of . 

Clutch, repairing of . 

Clutch, slipping of . 

Coal stove for heating garage. 

Cold weather difficulties . 

Cold weather starting .. ; . 

Compression and carburetion . 

Compression effects . 


209 

235 

235 

20 

3 

9 

37 

218 

100 

40 

42 

43 
72 
35 
94 

127 

120 

105 

85 

164 

90 

20 

84 

15 

140 

176 

6 

203 

71 

184 

117 

117 


275 
























































276 


INDEX 


} 
t 

PAGE 

Compression, loss of . 118 

Condenser, punctured magneto . 30 

Connecting rod bearings . 28 

Conserving of fluid. 50 

Control system, Ford . 247 

Cooling system . 84 

Cooling system, Ford . 232 

Distributer arm. making of . 27 

Driving . 3 

Electrical troubles, remedies for . 26 

Emergency food supply for tourists . 207 

Emergency repairs . 167 

Engine, braking with . 6 

Engine knocks, causes of . 105 

Engine, misfiring of . 113 

Engine troubles . 100 

Equipment for motor camping . 209 

Equipment for tourists . 204 

External sparks . 33 

Feeding air through petcock on manifold . 12 

Fire, cause of . 44 

Fluid supply, regulation of . 37 

Food supply for tourist, emergency . 207 

Ford carburetion system . 218 

Ford cooling system . 232 

Ford ignition system .. 215 

Ford camshaft . 235 

Ford control system . 247 

Ford lighting, improving . 222 

Ford lighting system . 222 

Ford lubrication system . 225 

Ford lubrication troubles. 225 

Ford, oiling of .•. 98 

Ford rear axle. 253 

Ford steering system . 250 

Ford transmission system . 238 

Fuel, conserving of . 60 

Fuel system, trouble in . 54 

Garage, heating of . 197 

Gasoline, cleaning of . 52 

Gasoline solution for cleaning windshield . 15 

Gears . 136 

Gear case, watching of . 112 

Gear, running . 260 

Gear, shifting of with screwdriver . 171 

Gear, steering . 127 

General maintenance suggestions . 267 

Glycerine-alcohol solution for cleaning windshield. 15 

Headlight attachments . 78 

Heating the garage . 197 

High test gasoline . 185 

Hints for the tourists . 204 

Hot jacketed carbureter . 40 

Hot water system for heating garage. 203 

Ignition . 26 

Ignition system for Fords. . 215 



























































INDEX 


277 


PAGE 

Ignition troubles . 31 

Ignition troubles, tracing of. 34 

Improving carburetion of Fords . 218 

Improving Ford controls . 247 

Insulation, repairing damaged . 13 

Insurance, problems and solutions of . 16 

Inventions for changing tires . 165 

Jacketed carbureter . 42 

Kerosene for cleaning windshield . 16 

Knocks, engine . 105 

Knocks, magneto . Ill 

Knocks, pre-ignition . 110 


Lamps . 70 

Lens, prismatic .. 82 

Lighting system, care of. 67 

Lighting system. Ford . 222 

Locating trouble by sound . 108 

Loss of compression . 118 

Low speed misfiring . 116 

Lubrication system . 92 

Lubrication system, Ford . 225 

Lubrication troubles with Ford . 225 

Lye, cleaning radiator with . 85 


Magneto, care of . 

Magneto condenser punctured . . 

Magneto knocks . 

Maintenance ... 

Maintenance, suggestions for . . 
Making rear axle grease tight . . 
Manifold petcock for feeding air 

Mending water jacket . 

Misfiring at low speed . 

Misfiring of engine . 

Misfiring of motor . 

Mixture . 

Motor, braking with . 

Motor camping . 

Motor camping equipment . 

Motor, misfiring of .. 

Motor, proper maintenance of . . 
Mud, getting out of . 


35 

30 

111 

3 

267 

256 

12 

87 

116 

113 

113 

44 

b 

209 

209 

113 

140 

178 


Noises in rear axle. 

Nozzle chamber, relieving the 


133 

49 


Oiling of Ford Car . 

Oiling system, care of........ 

Oiling system, troubles with . 
Oiling troubles, varieties of . . 

Opening of throttle . 

Operating cost, cutting down . 
Overheating, causes and cures 


98 

94 
93 

95 
46 

267 

238 


Paralleling wheels . 

Patching of wayside blowout .. 

Petcock on manifold for feeding air 

Plug, repairing of . 

Position of spark . 

Pre-ignition knocks . 


148 

154 

12 

2.8 

48 

110 


























































278 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Prismatic lens . 82 

Punctured magneto condenser . 30 

Radiator, cleaning of . 84 

Radiator, repairing of . 178 

Radius rods, bracing of. 262 

Rear axle . 133 

Rear axle, repairing of . 175 

Rear axle. Ford . 253 

Refrigeration . 41 

Regulation of fluid supply . 37 

Reinforcement of tires . 147 

Remedies for electrical troubles . 26 

Removal of carbon . 100 

Removing and replacing camshaft . 235 

Repairing damaged insulation . 13 

Repairs, emergency . 167 

Repairs on road . 167 

Repairing of spark plug. 28 

Replacing steering knuckle bushings . 11 

Reserve tanks . 192 

Re-treading of tires . 146 

Rims . 136 

Rims, Ford . 260 

Rod bearings, connecting . 228 

Rods, bracing of radius. 262 

Road repairs . 167 

Running gear . 260 


Slipping the clutch . 6 

Solutions, anti-freezing . 188 

Sparks, external . 33 

Spark plug, repairing of . 28 

Spark position . 48 

Spring, repairing of . 168 

Starting car in cold weather . 184 

Starting and lighting system . 60 

Starting and lighting troubles . 60 

Steam-cleaning gasoline . 53 

Steering gear, caring for . 127 

Steering knuckle bushing, replacing of . 11 

Steering gear, repairing of . 173 

Steering system . 127 

Steering system, Ford . 250 

Storage battery, testing of . 68 

Systems, carburetion and fuel feed . 37 

System, care of lighting . 67 

System, cooling . 84 

System, ignition . 26 

System, lubrication . 92 

System, starting and lighting . 60 

System, steering . 127 

System, carburetion for Fords . 218 

System, control (Ford) . 247 

System, ignition for Fords . 215 

System, Ford lighting. 222 

System, Ford lubrication . 225 

System, Ford steering . 250 

System, Ford transmission . 238 


Tanks, reserve . 192 

Testing storage battery . 68 

Throttle opening . 46 






























































INDEX 


279 


PAGE 

Tires . 142 

Tires, care of . .*.... 144 

Tires, care of in winter . 161 

Tires, caring for . 150 

Tires, changing of . 164 

Tires, conservation of . 157 

Tires, Ford . 260 

Tires, Reinforcement of . 147 

Tires, re-treading of . 146 

Tires, systematic care of . 148 

Tires, use for old . 156 

Tires, utilizing old . 155 

Torsion rod, repairing of . 170 

Tourist equipment . 204 

Tourist, hints for . 204 

Tracing ignition troubles . 34 

Transformation of Ford into Speedster . 243 

Transmission bands, replacing of . 241 

Transmission, proper care of . 140 

Transmission troubles . 238 

Transmission, troubles with . 122 

Transmission system, Ford . 238 

Troubles, causes of . 109 

Trouble in fuel system . 54 

Trouble, locating . 108 

Troubles, locating and eliminating . 62 

Trouble, transmission . 238 

Vaporization by pressure drop . 41 

Vinegar and water, cleaning radiator with . 85 

Water jacket, mending of . 87 

Welding, autogenous . 90 

Wheels . 142 

Wheels, aligning of . 142 

Wheels and tires . 142 

Wheels, paralleling the . 143 

Wheels, Ford . 260 

Windshield, cleaning of . 15 

Winter care for tires . 161 

Winter driving . 180 

Winter maintenance . 180 

Winter starting . 193 

Winter starting simplified . 186 


























































































































